Second Chance
by Andovia212
Summary: It's four months after the Danny saved the Earth and revealed his identity. That means his parents have had four months to get used to everything, so why haven't they? What will it take to get these parents to realize? Only relationship besides known marriages is DxS, but it's only mentioned. Rated Kplus for now but may go up if planned violence ends up too bad. I don't own DP.
1. Chapter 1

_Note: I normally say the timeline and basic events before the story, but this one explains itself throughout. What I shall say instead is I got the inspiration from "Second Chance" by Shinedown._

* * *

Danny collapses on his bed, exhausted, and transforms back to human. He had been fighting for almost three days straight. Besides the normal things he should have been doing during that time such as going to school and sleeping, these past days he really had needed the free time he didn't get. It's been four months since the Disasteroid incident, and he thought his parents were used to his powers. He found out four days ago how wrong he was. Despite knowing he was truly good and understanding what occurred during the times they thought he wasn't, they had been researching for months on one particular task. Separating Danny Fenton from Danny Phantom without harming either of them, including personality-wise.

Since then though, Danny hadn't had a free moment to sit down with them and discuss why it was a bad idea. He had neglected to tell them all of his escapades and never would but apparently needed to inform them of what would happen if they tried separating him. Plus, despite the stress of being a superhero, Danny didn't WANT to be two separate people. The incident with the Fenton Catcher proved what would happen. Even if they could make him into two completely separate beings, that would mean Phantom could easily lose his mental humanity. The Dan Incident proved just how dangerous a Danny Phantom without his human half could, and most likely would, be. Removing his powers just before the Disasteroid had doubled that assurance that he NEEDED to be both. Even if they could separate his halves without destroying his personality, he wouldn't be complete as Fenton because he'd be sitting on the sidelines mostly. He knew he was too weak physically to fight ghosts constantly in his human form. These thoughts swirl around in his head in full force now that he had made sure every ghost in town had been locked in the ghost zone. It wasn't an invasion of any sort. Just a LOT of random ghosts, some of which were tough to beat like the Fright Knight, Vortex, and Undergrowth.

He groans, cursing his mind from being to active when he just wants to sleep, and sits up. He stands slowly, sore from all the bruising and cuts currently healing at a fast rate, noticing a slight twinge in his right ankle. They would all be healed by school time as long as he didn't fight any more that night and actually got to GO to school. Mr. Lancer had begun tutoring him when he had time, working flexibly with Danny's unpredictable schedule.

He takes one step and almost falls over as pain shoots up his leg. He shifts the weight off of it and pulls up his pant leg to reveal that it's swelled and very discolored. He sighs in irritation.

"I knew I landed on it wrong when I was fighting Skulker," he mutters to himself. He persists, limping his way out of his room, down the stairs, and into the kitchen, the lights to which are still one. The stove clock reads 11:26 PM. He makes his way to the fridge slowly, not wanting to Go Ghost since it would probably take more energy than walking on a twisted-possibly-sprained ankle. He makes a quick but decently large meal and begins wolfing it down, having not eaten since about 6 AM. Yesterday. In ghost form, he could live off very little food and drink. In his human form on the other hand, he had such a high metabolism that he needed to eat a lot more than most. He suspected it was from the energy his body required to keep his powers from exploding out randomly. As he's finishing up, his mom walks into the kitchen, two empty plates and cups in her hands. She jumps slightly when she notices him. Having not expected him to be home until much later.

"I didn't know you were back home, Hon. I'm glad you are, though. You know I don't like when you're out past curfew to fight," she comments, chiding him slightly at the end. His curfew was still ten but now it had the exception of ghost fighting. As long as he was fighting, he didn't have a curfew. If all was silent, he was grounded if he missed it.

"I know. I don't think there'll be any more tonight though. Mainly because I haven't had time to empty the thermoses from the past several days so some of them have kinda been in there a while. Once I do that, I'm sealing the Portal for the night if that's okay with you guys. It might keep some of them at bay at least, and I need some sleep." His mom had begun to wash the few dishes in the sink along with the ones he had just dirtied while he was talking.

"That's fine with me, and I'm sure your father will agree. I want you to go ahead and do that now because your father and I want to talk to you before you go to sleep." She never turned around while saying this, but Danny could tell immediately by her tone that she was excited. His parents excited was almost never a good thing for him, even nowadays.

"Can't it wait, Mom? I've barely slept from fighting and ni-" he begins to complain but stops and pales when he realizes he almost admitted to having nightmares. He was relatively used to them by now, seeing as they plague him almost every time he actually does fall asleep. It was too late to back track now though as she had been listening and was smart enough to figure out a word beginning with "ni" that would keep people awake a night.

"Daniel Fenton, have you been having nightmares without telling me?" she asks, turning around to face him with her hands on her hips. The sheepish look on Danny's face tells her the answer. "Danny, you know you're supposed to tell us! I thought the nightmares mostly stopped when you were ten. The doctors said you passed the sleep study and everything. When did they start back up? How bad have they been? Wh-"

"Mom, it's fine. I'm used to having them. It's not like they hurt me." 'Physically,' he added in his head. By the look on her face, she wasn't placated. He sighs. "Fine. They started up again right after the accident. Well, if you can even say they stopped. They just calmed down because of and for a while after taking that medicine they put me on. I just never told you and Dad because I didn't want to worry you. As for how bad, it depends on what it's about." When he was eight, Danny had been diagnosed with Chronic Insomnia by cause of Chronic Nightmares and Sleep Terrors. _(AN: No, these are not the same thing! Look and you shall receive~)_ He had seen how worried his parents had been about him not getting enough sleep, so he started pretending. He facepalms in a sudden realization. "I guess that means I had Hero Complex before all this happened, huh?" His mom chuckles though the worry is still in her eyes.

"Alright, I'll leave you be about it, but if they ever get too bad then you had better take some of that Melatonin we keep in the medicine cabinet. And, I would really rather we not wait until morning, especially since you have school in the morning," she concedes, knowing she can't get Danny to do anything in this circumstance. Since she had apparently never noticed his nightmares for the past several years, she doubted he would tell her when he had more. One of the things she had yet to comprehend was how she had been so blind to Danny's secret. Sure, she had suspected there was a big secret he was keeping from her, but never the actual secret. He sighs then agrees. He gets up and starts to make his way upstairs again to grab the thermoses when he's stopped once again by his mom though this time from her gasping.

"What did you do to your ankle, young man?" She doesn't wait for an answer though as she rushes over to him and lifts his pant leg enough to see it. "No arguing this time. I want you to sit back down, tell me where the thermoses are, and let me wrap up your ankle." For the stern look on her face, Danny nods, deflated, and sits back down.

"I can get the thermoses, Mom. Since I know you're not going to let me point out the uselessness of tending to my ankle which will be healed by morning time, at least let me do things like normal! I can go ghost if you don't want me walking on it." He knows he's playing on some of her weaknesses to get what he wants, but he wasn't about to let anybody but him put those ghosts back. There were too many for an accident to happen and let them all out. He was speaking the truth at the same time though. His ankle surely would be fine in the morning, and he didn't want to be bothered with trying to wrap it or for it to change his routine any. When leaving, he had been trying to keep from limping, but apparently he still was enough for his mom to notice. She thinks for a moment then nods at his request.

She leaves the room and comes back with the bathroom first-aid kit then quickly cares for his swollen joint, informing him it looked like a sprain and probably wouldn't be healed by morning time if he didn't stay off of it. When she's done, she tells him to change so he can fly and not put weight on it. He swiftly touches his ice core and morphs, but wishes he hadn't. Though he had been able to change quickly, it hadn't been effortless like it normally is.

"I really am drained," he mutters then floats himself off the chair and to his room, taking the normal route to keep from using too much energy. He makes it to his room and back downstairs, this time with five full thermoses piled in his arms, when he starts to have difficulty. The familiar bluish-white halo of light appears around his waist, wanting to change him back. It splits and starts to travel over him, but he fights it while floating down to the basement as quickly as he can manage and lands right in front of the operation panel for the portal before he loses his fight and changes back completely. His dad is watching him, oblivious to how exhausted his son is.

"Danny! Glad you're home! Did your mother tell you we want to talk?" he asks, bouncing in his spot with excitement. Danny simply nods weakly and begins emptying the thermoses. Most of the ghosts scream as they're sucked from the thermos and into the vacuum of the Portal, but some remain quiet, used to it by now. By the end, only two remain in thermoses, alone and not allowed out until in proper hands. Vortex had escaped the Observants once again and had to be returned directly while they had begrudgingly asked Danny to hand them Undergrowth as well since they failed to catch him so many times. He hears his mom coming down as he's typing in the sequence to lock to Portal and turn on the special new Ghost Shield that only covered the area of the Portal door so no ghost could phase through. Now the only ghosts capable of getting to Amity Park were those who could create portals, those who were currently out of the Ghost Zone and able to fly to Amity from another place, and anything strong enough to break through both ectoplasm-infused steel **and** a ghost shield. Danny could only think of three capable of the last option, two of which he never wanted to face again and one friend.

"Oh, good. You're done. Now, I know you're probably exhausted, Hon, but we have to talk about this tonight or wait until the next possible time which would be at least a year away." She pauses to see his response. He simply raises his eyebrows to tell her to continue, barely keeping on his feet but knowing he'd fall straight asleep if he even sat down for a second. "Alright. Your father and I have been researching, and we've done it! We found a way to get you back to normal without destroying Phantom or either personality! We have to rework the inner process of the Fenton Ghost Catcher and then get enough power built up. The only problem is we'd need a specific surge from the electric company and on a night they aren't in too great of need of excess energy. Those nights are extremely rare, but tonight is one of them. We've already done most of the reworking but need to make it better using your specifics. If you want, you can sleep while we gather the necessary information then we'll wake you up when we're ready, Sweetie!"

Danny was surprised about how well thought out this plan seemed. It was still not going to happen though. He normally would've been a bit more sorry for them having worked so hard on it to be wasted, but he could only truly think about sleep at this moment.

"Mom, Dad, I appreciate all the work. I really do. I'm not allowing this though. I have my reasons from past experiences which I'll share with you tomorrow. Just know that Danny Fenton and Danny Phantom being two separate beings is a BAD idea and NEVER going to happen again. Now, I've been up constantly for days. I. Am. Going. To. Bed," he states as bluntly as possible then limps his way across the room (while avoiding the surprised and hurt expressions on his parents' faces), up both flights of stairs, and over to his bed but after remembering to lock the door. He doesn't bother to undress as he literally collapses on the bed and is asleep before his head hits.


	2. Chapter 2

_AN: I would like to inform that I have several of these chapters pre-typed. I intend to update on Thursdays. If my posting catches up to my writing, the pace will likely stagger, but I will try my hardest to prevent this. Enjoy~_

* * *

Danny wakes up slowly, irritated by the bright light on his face. Once he's awake enough, he groans and tries to adjust himself to block the sunlight streaming in from his window, but fails miserably, realizing his pillows aren't beneath his head. He finally opens his eyes and notices he's backwards on his bed with his head at its foot and his own feet entangled with his pillows. His blanket is underneath him, wrinkled but relatively straight. He glances over at his clock then yelps and bolts upright when he sees the time. He has ten minutes until school starts! He jumps up and rushes to his dresser, jerking open the drawers then pulling clean clothes out. He tosses them on his bed then runs to his shower. He makes it back out within two minutes, running a towel through his hair then tossing said towel across the room in the general direction of his cloths hamper. Within another minute, he's dressed and hurrying down the stairs, carrying his shoes and backpack. He sets his backpack on the table as he tries to pull on his shoes, hopping on the spot to do so.

"Danny! What are you doing up this early?" Jazz asks as she comes in the room, still in her pajamas. Danny looks at her, confused, then glances at the clock over the stove. It reads an hour earlier than his own clock. He comprehends then groans, plopping in the chair beside his backpack.

"You forgot time went backwards an hour last night, didn't you?" He nods, feeling stupid. "Don't worry about it, Little Brother. I'm glad you got some sleep, too." As she's talking, she's whirling around the kitchen making coffee for herself and preparing two bowls of cereal.

"How'd you know I got sleep?"

"Because you don't have a million bags under your eyes like you did the last time I saw you. How long did you go without sleep this time?" She sets one of the bowls in front of him along with a glass of orange juice then sits down herself.

"Thanks. I'm not really sure. I know I was fighting pretty much constantly for about three days, but I lost track of how much of that time I actually got to sleep during then. As far as last night, I think I got to bed around midnight and just now woke up maybe ten minutes ago. A lot longer than I usually sleep."

"Oh, really? How long is that?" Her voice makes it seem like she's mildly curious, but her eyes are telling him she's watching his every move and just waiting to lecture him about what lack of sleep does to the mind.

"Usually about four hours, and, before you start going on about it, I don't need as much sleep as most. Full ghosts don't need to sleep at all, and I can easily run off of two hours nowadays. Any less and it starts to get to me though, so I try to get at least three. Therefore, I'm plenty caught up on sleep since I got, what, eight hours?" She nods, looking a bit snubbed and sheepish. They both continue eating in silence until footsteps announce their parents coming downstairs. The elder Fentons are already dressed in their classic HAZMAT suits and ready for the day. The only thing out of the ordinary is their expressions when they see Danny. His dad looks away and hurries to the fridge, but Danny sees the disheartened and disappointed look on his face. His mother's, on the completely opposite hand, is angry and frustrated. Most people wouldn't be able to tell it, but her children can easily.

"Morning, Mom. Morning, Dad," Danny says, hopeful this wouldn't last very long. His silent plea is rejected when neither of them acknowledge his greetings. Jazz is obviously confused at their lack of response and moods.

"Um, Mom, Dad, Danny was talking to you two."

"Was he? I was trying to block him out before I could find out some other news like how we learned last night how rude and unappreciative he is," his mom replies curtly, pouring herself a mug of coffee then heading straight out of the room. His dad follows a moment later, holding a plate and mug for himself. The lab door slamming shut echoes through the house as Jazz stares open mouthed at where they had disappeared from the kitchen.

"What happened last night?" Danny sighs.

"Get ready, and I'll tell you on the way to school if you're fine with driving me today." She nods then places her empty bowl in the sink and hurries upstairs. Danny pushes his soggy cereal pieces around in his bowl as he waits. He knew he had some making up to do, but hadn't realized how much until now. His mom had never done anything like that before, no matter what he had done.

Within ten minutes, Jazz comes back downstairs, and they leave early for school, calling out goodbyes through the closed door. Danny makes sure to add another apology in his farewell, but they don't even respond to Jazz. She waits until they're in the car and pulling away before giving him a look saying 'tell me **NOW**'. He nods then recaps everything from the night before. She grows steadily more worried as the story continues. It's silent for a moment after he's finished.

"Danny, I think you should stay at Tucker's tonight. This isn't something they're going to let go of easily. It sounds like they've been thinking along the lines of 'We're doing good for our son' for months now. Thought processes don't always change easily or quickly. I can keep talking to them to get them to understand. ... If they'll talk to me, that is. It's odd. It seemed like they were just as mad with me."

"Why would they be mad at you?"

"I'm hoping they were just forgetting to turn down the coldness against me because you were in the room. If not... it's worse than I think it is now and will be almost impossible to get through to."

"Why do I have the bad feeling it's worse than you think, and I'm gonna be screwed?"

"That's your typical luck, Little Brother. That's your typical."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~Time skip~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Danny rereads the text from Jazz, eyebrows creasing with even more worry. He's now at Tucker's, where he was sleeping over for the night and had been working on homework when his phone had chimed with the confirmation of his gut feeling that morning.

_**(**__OK, u said it's almst mpsibl. wat will I hv 2 do?__**)**_ he messages back. Jazz's reply comes several minutes later, each moment becoming more suspenseful for Danny.

_(It wouldn't kill you to type full words. I'm not positive on what will have to be done. Something drastic to make them realize they're wrong. Right now, they are both thinking along the lines of "We know what's best for our children, and this is going to happen one way or another." Anybody thinking otherwise is immediately seen as against them. So, therefore, anybody who knew about you beforehand and never tried to change you back to normal or the like. With it so strongly ground into their minds, they're not being open to reasoning for anybody. They have to realize it on their own. Understand they can't have one side of you without the other. Otherwise, they'll keep trying to split you in two. You have to keep away from them right now, Danny. I believe they'll start trying to persuade you, but they'll get more aggressive. Their minds are going to compel them to it.)_

_**(**__Geez, Jazz. Just because texting lingo annoys you, doesn't mean you have to write a novel for every message. How can we make them realize it then? It's not like I can live at Tucker's house. Plus, I'm going to leap and say me simply staying elsewhere won't make them realize it?__**)**_

_(Sadly, your leap is correct. I'm not sure at the moment, but I'll compile some ideas on getting through to them tonight. We'll come back to the house during lunch when they're sure to be out to go over them. DO NOT do anything you think of without consulting me first. Okay? Promise me you won't.)_

_**(**__I guess you're probably the better one for thinking ideas up. I need to get back to hw, patrol once more, then go to bed. Forgot my charger, so my phone will probably die really soon. Night, Jazz.__**)**_

_(Thank you. You didn't promise me though. Promise me. Right now, Danny.) _

Danny starts typing a reply, but deletes what he has. He shuts off his phone, having thought of the exact idea Jazz had probably wanted to prevent him acting on. It was so obvious. And... it might just work. Only if nobody knew, though. He tosses his phone in his bag then starts to gather up his school supplies. Tucker looks up from his work, curious.

"What's up, Dude? I know you can't be done with homework before me. Work altogether, yeah. Not homework."

"No, Jazz told me to meet her at home. She's gotta think of ways to fix things between me and our parents. Also, if she calls, tell her my phone died," Danny makes up quickly. He wasn't technically lying on either account. Jazz had told him to come home and was going to come up with ideas. He just didn't bother to mention the specifics of when. He had told Sam and Tucker everything throughout lunch, and they were both a bit worried but not very much. Danny figured they didn't realize just how bad the situation is. That was fine with him for the time being. If he was going to do this, he had to make sure absolutely nobody would realize until it was too late.

Tucker nods, and Danny goes ghost, flying out into the open and towards his house. He silently enters his room, staying invisible, and listens. He can hear Jazz on the phone in the next room then running down the hall a moment later. He empties his backpack then refills it with a change of clothes, a thermos, several bottles of water, a bit of nonperishable food, and his framed family photo off his dresser. On an afterthought, he grabs his phone charger as well. It really had been about to die when he turned it off, and he would need some form of entertainment. He sits at his desk to do the hard part. Within twenty minutes, he's done. He leaves the note on his bed, puts on his backpack, locks his bedroom door for extra time (though he wouldn't need it), and flies out of the house to go to his favorite hide-out. This had to work. He didn't think he could survive if he parents began hating him. Hopefully he could survive missing them.

* * *

_Oooooooh, where's he going to go?~ Cliffhanger was intended this time~ :D Aren't I just the sweetest author?~ I would like to note that if Danny seems OOC when he catches onto Jazz's thoughts, this is several months after PP with plenty of tutoring from the wonderful staff of Casper High. _


	3. Chapter 3

_AN: I ended up switching tense on accident, so Jazz's part after this chapter is in past tense. I actually intend to keep this though all of her parts. Think of it as Danny is living it and Jazz added her parts of the story in later. Also, I am so sorry this is late, even if by only a few minutes._

* * *

_*3rd Person- Jazz-two minutes after sending her last text*_

Jazz is almost freaking out at this point. Danny had never replied, and it was too much of a coincidence for his phone to have died right then. Yet, it showed he was typing a moment before then. She starts scrolling through her contact list and finally finds Tucker's number.

"Hey, Jazz. You just missed him."

"What?! No! Did he say where he's going? When did he leave?"

"About a minute ago. He said he was supposed to meet you to talk about ways to fix everything. Why? What's up?"

"Ugghhh! WHY does he have to be so stubborn?!"

"Jazz.."

"I mean, I specifically **TOLD** him not to do anything rash! What does he do? He does something rash!"

"JAZZ! What. Is. Wrong?" Jazz takes a deep breath to calm herself.

"Call Sam and have her meet us at the Nasty Burger _ASAP_. I need help from you two, and I'll explain everything then. This is something you guys have to learn in person." He agrees then disconnects. Jazz picks up her purse then a thermos on an afterthought. It was a tiny bit extreme, but if Danny wouldn't sit still to listen (if they could even find him) then she might have to make him.

She hurries downstairs, out the door, and to her car. She's at the poorly named restaurant within two minutes and sees Sam and Tucker running towards it. She goes on forward and stops beside them. They look at each other then get in the back seat.

"Okay, what's going on, Jazz?" Sam asks immediately.

"Alright, I'm going to assume Danny told you two everything going on with our parents, correct?" They both nod, looking worried already. "Right, well, I think you should just read our conversation to learn the next part of it." She passes them her phone. Confusion become more prominent on their faces as they go further down the conversation.

"So, what is it you were afraid of him doing?" Tucker questions.

"One of the only ways they could realize they can't have their son without having him as a half ghost is for them to not have any of him. I think Danny's running away. It's the only logical way that method of breaking through to him could work! We have to get ideas of where he might go."

"Wait, wait, wait. Jazz, this is Danny we're talking about. Do you honestly think his mind would be able to make that jump? Plus, he wouldn't leave Amity Park unprotected. It's his obsession to keep Amity Park protect."

"Yeah, Jazz. What makes you think he'd do that? He said he was going to meet you at you guys' house. Let's just go back there and see if he's waiting for you." Jazz looks about ready to argue but nods her head and starts the car back up.

This trip takes half an hour since a road block had been set up almost right after Jazz had turned off the road connecting her street and the street of The Nasty Burger. Apparently some pipe or pole had broken in the area. The block forced them to drive through the main part of town where rush hour was still occurring. Jazz was almost in a full panic when they finally pulled up at FentonWorks.

Jazz jumps out of her car as fast as she can, remembering to throw it into park, but leaving the door open and the car on. Sam and Tucker share a worried glance before turning off the car and following Jazz inside, where she had accidentally collided with her mother, sending both of them to the ground.

"Mom! Have you seen Danny? It's an emergency!" Her mother rubs her hip where she landed. She doesn't look too annoyed though.

"Jasmine, it's unlike you to not apologize. What's wrong?" Her voice is a lot colder than usual, but has a hint at her usual motherly worry.

"Sorry, now have you seen Danny?"

"Not since this morning b-" she begins but Jazz tries to run past her to check Danny's room. Her mother catches her arm. "Whoa, hold on, young lady. You're going to tell me what's wrong this very instant. Why are you asking where your brother is when you know he's supposed to be at Tucker's?"

"Because he's not there! He left! I- I... Mom, I'm worried he's going to run away," she explains with an unneeded gulp after the end. Her mother's face change instantly to one of surprise with a hint of worry. Had things been normal, she would've been only worry, but nothing was normal right now.

"Go check his room." Jazz bolts up the stairs. She grabs the door knob and tries to turn it, but it's locked. She races back downstairs and informs them, looking a million times more panicky than before.

"You get your father, I'll get the key to Danny's room."

"Wait, there's a key to Danny's bedroom?" Her mother simply raises her eyebrows at her as if to ask 'What, you think two scientist parents aren't going to make sure they have access to their children's bedrooms?'. Jazz just bows her head a bit then bolts to the lab to get her dad.

It takes ten minutes to do both tasks as the key was lost and her dad had to be informed of the situation, but soon enough, they're all at Danny's door. Her mom unlocks the door and shoves it open to reveal the room empty.

"E equals MC SQUARED!" Jazz curses. "I TOLD him not to do anything rash! And WHAT does he do?! Something rash! Dangit, Danny!" She notices the four of them staring at her and blushes from her outburst.

"Alright, calm down a minute Jazz, and tell us exactly what is going on," her mother demands. Jazz throws a worried glance at Sam and Tucker then starts to explain, editing just a bit. They would deny their own thought processes if she pointed it out then Danny leaving would be for nothing. She mentally curses him more as she goes. She could've thought of something else! But nooooo, Danny just HAD to choose the first option he came up with.

"So... Danny ran away... because we wanted to separate him from his ghost half?" her mother draws in conclusion at the end. Jazz nods tentatively, knowing this is an important moment. Her parents meet eyes then seem to come to a silent agreement. "Well, that's just not like him. How do we know being half-ghost isn't affecting him mentally now? His Phantom half probably wants to remain as such and is subconsciously forcing his human half to agree! Jazz, Honey, can you think of anywhere he might have gone?"

"No! That's the big problem! He can fly and turn invisible and intangible. If he doesn't want to be found, then it'll be physically impossible! For all we know, he could still be in the house!" Her mom is thoughtful for a moment.

"Jazz, Danny is still a teenage boy. He can't possibly go very long without someone taking care of him... right?" Jazz raises her eyebrows.

"Mom, you're talking about someone who doesn't have eat anymore than twice a week as long as he's in ghost form, can surely find something to drink on his own, only needs a few hours of sleep (therefore able to get farther in a day), AND there's the fact he can fly almost two hundred miles an hour without stopping for most of that time he IS awake. If he doesn't have a specific destination in mind but just keeps flying, he could be in Antarctica in just over two days!" _(AN: I did the math, folks! If he were to fly at 200 MPH for 20 hours a day, he'd literally only take just over two days to make it from Illinois (where I believe Amity Park is) to Antarctica~)_

"Why would Danny go there?" her dad asks. Even in a bad mood, he's still the same in essentials.

"I don't think he is actually going to Antarctica. Even though he probably would be perfectly comfortable with the temperature. After all, he was fine on the North Pole even when he went to human form. I-" Jazz notices something out of the corner of her eye and freezes, her head seeming to turn toward it in slow motion. Sam starts to ask but sees it as well.

"I-is that... what I think it is?" Sam croaks out. Jazz doesn't answer, too absorbed in her own thoughts and speculations. Her mother takes the initiative to stride across Danny's room, pick up the paper laying atop his pillow, unfold it, and begin reading. Jazz watches her face intently as the hard mask slowly melts to one of shock, concern, and hints of despair. Jazz numbly goes to her side and begins reading over her shoulder.

_**((Mom and Dad,**_

_**I am fine. I wasn't kidnapped or forced to do anything against my will. I want you to SEE. You've probably assumed I'm only acting like this because "my ghost half is tricking or forcing my human half". Your assumption is wrong. Yes, I realize you're probably thinking "he's still being tricked!", but I PROMISE I am not. **_

_**Please realize the truth. You're thinking of Danny Fenton and Danny Phantom as two separate people in one body. That's not how it works. It's just ME inside my body. No other entities here. So, who is "me"? I know that answer. I have known for a while now about who I really am and almost caused disaster when I questioned it. You two don't seem to know me at all though. **_

_**So, here's the deal. When you two just REALIZE who I am, I'll come back home. I'm sure Jazz could help you by thinking of some sort of game or something. Also, the portal is still locked. When it opens, I'll know to come home. You might be able to guess the password, but I promise it's not any of my usual ones.**_

_**I love you both. A lot. That's why I'm doing this. Because if you keep trying to force me to be what you think I am but am really not, then I think I would end up hating you. I can't bare the thought, but it's true. I do love you both for now though. It's up to you two where the future of it lies. You're great parents most of the time. Make now one of those times.**_

_**Love, Danny**_

_**P.S. Jazz, I know you wanted me to promise, but I had to. Please don't be mad at me. The sooner you can help them realize, the sooner I'll come home, alright? I love you, too, Big Sis.**_

_**P.P.S. Sam and Tucker, I know you're probably reading this too. I'm guessing Jazz went to get you to help search for me. Tuck, do me a favor and keep everybody sane while I'm gone. I'll be back, hopefully, soon. I've got Dani on the way to town (she doesn't know where I am either, BTW) for help in any possible ghost fights. **_

_**Sam, I know we haven't been dating that long and that it's not as meaningful as when it's said aloud, but I need to say this now. If I don't, I think I'll go crazy until I see you again. I love you. You don't have to love me unless you want to or until you're ready to if you will, and I don't want you to say it if you don't know if you might regret it later. Just know, no matter how much you like me, I love you.)) **_

In the time it took Jazz to read it, the others had come over and started reading though only Sam had finished. Jazz watches as one tear makes it out of her eye, but she wipes it away immediately, a look Jazz had never seen lighting up her eyes below a layer of sadness. One by one, the others finish until finally her dad reaches the bottom. After a few moments, her mother's voice shatters the silence.

"He... Jazz, what did he mean that we don't know him? We're his parents! Of course we know him! Why would he think we need you to explain him to us?" Her tone is desperate but hollow, knowing she was kidding herself if she still believed such. Jazz shakes her head slowly back and forth, watching with slight guilt as their faces drop.

"Look, Mr. and Mrs. Fenton, Danny's.. not exactly changed but developed a lot since he got his powers. He's still the same Danny. He's just learned to be himself instead of the guy he thought he was before his powers. He's not very hard to figure out most of the time as long as you know where to start. I think what Danny was saying about Jazz helping you was that she can figure out where to start you at," Sam cuts in. Jazz throws her a grateful glance. Her parents contemplate this a minute, well, more likely her mother was while her father was trying to understand what half the words in Danny's letter meant.

"Hmm... well, I... guess your father and I could have you help us. Now that I think about it more, the Danny I know wouldn't have responded the way he did to a lot of the things he has. I'm not convinced he isn't being overpowered by his ghost half, but if it's the only way for him to come back... I just want my baby boy to come home, and we'll sort everything else out then."

Jazz nods once, hoping this would work. It would take a lot of tricking for them to finally believe Danny wasn't being different than himself. A light bulb goes in Jazz's head then.

"How about we get started right now? The sooner we do, the sooner he'll be home." 'And the sooner I can test my hypothesis...'

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_This chapter was originally a lot shorter, actually. I added in another part originally attached to the next chapter. Now this chapter is the longest thus far. XD Hope you enjoyed!~ F,F, and R!~ :D Let me know when you see grammatical errors or anything. I need to know to fix them :) _


	4. Chapter 4

_AN: My chapters are severely catching up to me, so I can't promise the next one will be on time. This one doesn't have a lot of action *coughnonecough*, but there will be at least one chapter in the future which will have **only** action. Hope you enjoy~_

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Four hours.

That's how long they had been going at it with how much progress? Oh, that's right. Zero. Jazz had thought she was making a bad decision in waiting to test her particular hypothesis, but never thought it would take this long for the other route. She had gotten out two sentences when her mother first began objecting, unwilling to accept the truth being shoved into her mind. This was supposed to be the easiest truth, yet she refused it. Her son's obsession was to protect. She completely understands that ghosts have obsessions with Danny being no exception, but point blank refused to believe his was protecting, bringing up every single instance which caused her to believe otherwise. At the moment, she's going on about another one of them.

"-remember that as well as I do, Jasmine! How can you say his obsession is protecting when Valerie could've been in that suit? How could he have known she wasn't until he actually saw her? I mean-"

"Mom..."

"-and was careless ab-"

"Mom!"

"-can't be his obse-"

"**MOM**!" Her mother huffs at being interrupted, but does stop her rant. "Thank you. Now, I need you to listen to me and believe it, okay? For that particular example, he knew for a fact she wasn't because she had been talking to Technus, the ghost who was taking over the suit at the time, before he was able to change and start fighting the suit. You two have obviously never seen him when a bystander gets hurt while he's fighting. He flips out and starts fighting even harder but safer. He's the type who's willing to take a kill shot for a complete stranger. Now, I didn't want to do this until you two understood what his obsession is, but I have no other choice. I have to tell you about... the times he's tried to split his ghost and human halves." Jazz knew she had said the ending in a slight rush, but it was theatrics time. She wouldn't lie or even bend the stories. The way she told them didn't have to be normal though.

Her sentence gives the reaction she suspected and hoped for. Her mother's eyes flew wide, and her dad (who had been falling asleep since his wife was saying everything he had thought of worthy of mention) straightened up.

"What do you mean? He can't have tried to do that on his own. It would've been far too dangerous to even attempt it!" The elder red-head did not look as sure as she sounded.

"Fine, I won't tell you, then since you won't believe them to be true. Actually, why am I even wasting my breath at all on you two? You've run your only son out of the house because you're so biased!" Silence followed her outburst as Jazz let some of the emotion she had been somewhat bottling spill out. Just enough for them to see it. It worked. Her mother automatically extended her arms toward her to comfort her then looked at her own hands and pulled back, following it with a sigh. Jazz smiled inside. Her psychology was working better than she expected it could on her intelligent mother.

"Alright. I promise neither of us will interrupt you from now on. Tell us the stories you think are necessary to understand... even if you don't think we'll believe them to be true." Jazz did let a small smile on her face this time then launched into the story of Danny splitting himself with the Fenton-Catcher. The re-telling took a small while, but the confusion on her mother's face throughout it told Jazz she took more of it in store than Maddie had thought she would.

"So... neither part of him was right? Well... how do we not know it wasn't just a fluke, Sweetie? Maybe it would be possible the Catcher short-circuited."

"Ah, ah, ah, I said the stor_ies_ of the times. He's had similar things happen more than once. One of the other times you were actually the only one with him and involved Vlad-" This re-telling took even longer despite the story being shorter. Her mother interrupted this one a lot, but Jazz had expected this as she was mainly wondering how she had not noticed all of this occurring. Jazz could see a hidden layer of pride in her mother and her oddly silent father when they reached the part where Danny made his clever plan. That sliver of positive emotion assured Jazz of how her plan was working. It almost was. If the last story didn't do it, though, Jazz wasn't sure what she could do. She hoped Danny wouldn't be upset with her for telling it, though. It was a banned subject that Jazz had only learned entirely of the event when Danny needed to tell someone about it after a month of constant nightmares. She fruitlessly hoped she wouldn't have to tell the story, but it seemed it would be the only way to convince them.

She finally wrapped up the tale of Danny outsmarting Vlad and let them stew for a few moments, waiting for a telling response on where they stood.

"I- I guess that all makes sense, when you think about it..."

"But?" Jazz pressed. She could sense there was one coming and didn't like it.

"Well, you said Vlad could still use some of his powers while under the influence of the belt. What if neither weapon caused any change mentally, even if a ghost were to be melded in?" she questioned. Jazz groaned and drooped over across her lap, allowing herself this sign of emotion this time.

"Mom! The Plasmius Maximus shorted out powers completely! Danny told me he couldn't even touch his ghost core under its effects! That was the only time he couldn't even touch it while it was still inside him, ever!"

"What do you mean "touch his ghost core", Jazzerincess?" her dad asked, finally speaking after his long silence.

"Ghosts aren't built the way we are. They don't need physical hearts because they aren't alive. Instead, the have ghostly cores, which is the center of their powers and part of their consciousness. It's seems to just be where the purest form of their ectoplasm exists along with portions of sentience. With Danny, he has a core yet still has his heart. I think his core is actually in his heart or his heart is both of them at the same time. That's why his morph halos emanate from his chest unless he wants otherwise." There's a moment of silence as that soaks in. Jazz was honestly a bit surprised her parents didn't know about ghostly cores. Then again, they had in fact followed the philosophy of "shoot now, ask questions later". Better than Valerie's of never asking questions, but not by much.

"So.. Danny couldn't feel Phantom at all?" Jazz almost let out a frustrated noise. It wasn't working as well as she thought if her mom was still calling Danny by "Phantom".

"Danny couldn't feel his powers at all under the effects. Everything he did was his own thinking. Did he seem any different through all of that? You were the one with him." She shakes her head.

"Alright, then. Now, this last story... I don't really want to tell you guys, but I think I have to now. Because it's about... Danny's worst enemy and hardest fight." _(AN: I'm not going through the entire story, so don't worry about having to read it again.)_

"With who? Vlad?" asks her dad.

"No, Jack, it's got to be Pariah Dark, the Ghost King, right?" Her mom didn't seem quite so sure, though.

"No. Though that fight was really hard on Danny and almost killed him, there was one worse. In fact, the only reason any of us, you guys, me, Sam, Tucker, and Danny, are here right now is because of an intervening time ghost. You see, this fight wasn't like any other fight he's ever faced. This fight... he fought himself."

Confusion was immediately obvious, and it didn't lessen throughout the entire tale. Jazz told this one slower, taking almost two hours to explain the occurrence with a few minor breaks in between to use the restroom and get dessert as the whole session had gone late into the night with dinner intervening a while ago. They were up to a total of just under eight hours of trying to convince her parents to begin to believe in Danny's honesty.

Once the tale had ended, the silence was much longer and more prominent than before. The only noises in the house were the usual ones from the air conditioner and occasionally a louder beep from the basement as most were contained from being too loud. The louder ones were ghosts popping up from natural portals, but Jazz had asked Valerie to capture any that bothered the town for the night until Dani got to the house in the morning.

The silence finally cracked as Jazz spoke.

"So... do you guys get it, yet?" She had been analyzing their every movement and expression, but couldn't gather the conclusion even with her abilities. It takes another moment before her father responds.

"Jazz, have you thought of the possibility that Danny and Phantom can be separated because they aren't the same person?" Jazz's jaw dropped, and her mother's eyes widened then began to harden again. Jazz had been trying to play on what she knew would help her mother see the truth and not as much on her father because the large man usually went along with whatever his wife chose. Jazz never expected him to be the one who thought of anything that could undo all her work thus far. The thought was well reasoned (though still wrong), and Jazz could prevent no physical evidence it was not true. All she could do was try convincing them how she just knew her brother was in fact just her brother.

"Dad... how can you say that? How can you even think that after all you've found out?! Danny wasn't born like this. That's how they can come apart! He pretty much has ectoplasm welded onto and into his DNA, but if something not built into DNA initially shows up, there is a way to take it back off though it's not always for the better. In this case, it ISN'T! Think of it like- like- like a book! Yeah, a handmade book! You make the book, but then decide to add on more pages to the end of it. Those pages will never be part of the original, no matter what and some won't like it no matter what because the story didn't need it to stay the same. Now say you add details and pages throughout the story, changing the original a bit so the new parts can fit correctly. Then they combine to make something extremely similar to the original, but updated with hidden details from before now shining. That's what Danny is like." Jazz stopped the pacing she had begun, facing her parents to declare the end of her analogy. It wasn't very solid, but it was better than the first idea of an analogy she had which was cancer.

Her mother was looking not quite as emotionally hard as she was a few hours ago, but Jazz could tell most of her progress tonight had been lost. She groaned internally.

"You know what? Just forget everything for the night. Everything I've said, everything you've said. Even the fact that your only son has run away from home because you guys can't accept him. Just screw it all. I'm going to bed." Jazz stomped upstairs to her room, not looking back to see her parents. After slamming her bedroom door for good measure, she flopped onto her bed and picked up Bearbert. "I seriously should've considered a career in acting. I didn't even know I could pretend to be a typical teenager. I just followed what Danny used to sometimes when he had to escape and go ghost."

She sighed and got ready for the night. Tomorrow would be Friday, so Danny wouldn't miss too much, but she still would need to go around and ask his teachers for his work. It wouldn't do for everyone to find out Danny had ran away because of his parents, and Sam and Tucker made up for class time missed before school so patrol could begin without Danny (who did his after school).

Now in her pajamas, she shut off her light and curled up with Bearbert, snuggling with him for the first time in a while since she usually set him on the shelf. She stared out the window, trying to relax enough to drift off.

"I'm trying. I love you, Little Brother. Stay safe wherever you are." She slowly dropped off into a rather restless sleep.

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_Just to bug you guys since this isn't much of a cliffhanger, I'll let you in on a secret. Next chapter has Danny in it again~ F,F, &amp; R!~_


	5. Chapter 5

_AN: Hallo!~ Me with another chapter!~ This one actually made it on time! Absolutely cannot guarantee the same for the next chapter. There is some action coming up if you guys will bear with me through all the angst, but, hey, I DID label is an angst fic. XD I will apologize ahead of time for this chapter being a lot shorter than the others, though. Enjoy!~_

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_*__Third person- Danny just before when Jazz gets back home from getting Sam and Tucker*_

Danny settles himself into the big squishy chair he would be using as a bed for however long he'd have to stay away from his parents. He is in the most perfect place he could ever think of. It's close enough for his extra sensitive hearing to be able to hear when the portal opens, able to fight at a moment's notice if anything were to happen, close to food and utilities, and far enough for his parents' weapons not to detect him with the main ghost radar attached to the portal being shut down and the FFGAV being out of commission from a wreck last week. It had always surprised him that Jazz hadn't figured out his hiding place in the months he's had it.

He sighs at the quiet and looks around the all-too-familiar Op Center interior. It's rare for anyone to come up here since the only current way besides phasing is climbing the ladder at the back of the house because of shaft problems with the lift his parents had yet to fix. Considering how lazy his father can be and how close to the house it is, he doubts anyone would bother looking up here for him unless he caused something big to disappear from the house or something. He hopes Jazz will get his school work.

"Maybe I could trust Lancer to not tell my parents if I get my lessons from him at night for a little while," he mutters to himself, wanting to break the silence. It hadn't even been an hour and he's already missing normality. Well, as close as his life ever is to normal. The past four months had been stressful, but good. He had finally achieved the balance between his lives, being able to join them into the same life with a much more stable routine. Tires squeal outside, letting him know of his sister's return. His parents were still working down in the lab, but he only knows this because they hadn't come upstairs. A thought comes to Danny then, and he jumps up from his comfortable place.

His sister is home meaning his parents would soon know he was gone! It doesn't trouble him that they might try looking. He has invisibility and intangibility after all. It does, however, trouble him that he would have to hear the reaction of his parents, sister, best friends, and girlfriend.

"Or, I could just fly away for a few hours?" he thinks to himself then nods and throws himself out of the Op center, though not getting away quickly enough to avoid hearing his sister's frantic pleading with their mom. He remains faded from any possible human detection (with the naked eye as ghost monitors could easily find him) and goes to the school, hoping to see if he could follow through with the plan for Mr. Lancer tutoring him. He makes sure the teacher is in his room then lands in the empty school hallway and morphs, not wanting to spook his teacher. He knocks on the door and tries to hold a chuckle when the Lancer jumps a mile out his chair from the small noise. He walks over and opens the door for Danny.

"Mr. Fenton, I wasn't expecting you here. Jasmine phoned and told me you were ill. She was supposed to stop tomorrow to collect your work for the next several days." Danny follows Lancer into the classroom while the elder male talks. "Of course, if you have a problem with a question you're welcome to ask me anytime. Is that what it is?" He sits at his desk and motions for Danny to sit across from him in his normal seat, but he remains standing in case he had to make a quick escape.

"Um, actually, Mr. Lancer... I do need your help, but not on school work." He rubs the back of his neck out of habit as the multi-subject teacher gives him a confused look.

"What is it, Daniel? You know you can trust me on anything." Danny gulps a bit, re-thinking this. Mr. Lancer has no reason not to tell his parents except for the trust Danny has in him. Would it be enough for this?

"Well, I sort of did something rash because I had to, and now I won't be able to go to school for a while. Can you possibly keep me up in my classes without telling anybody that you are? Especially not my parents. I don't want this to bring down my grades when they're finally up again."

"Though it would not be a problem to help you, Mr. Fenton, why ever do you need to me to not tell your parents?" Confusion and worry are prominent in his face while Danny's stomach is knotted in nervousness, fearing he wouldn't even be able to stay in town if he told, but Danny knows he has to tell someone.

"Because I.. sort of... ran away from home."

The explanation of everything takes a long time though there is not much convincing needed. Mr. Lancer is concerned for his student, of course, but knows Danny can take care of himself and swears not to tell anything or anyone.

"Thank you, Mr. Lancer. I'd better get back to my place now. I'm still not quite caught up on sleep from, well, the last three years."

"You're very welcome, Mr. Fenton. Stay safe and goodnight." Danny walks out of the room and up the hallway before morphing and checking back on his teacher invisibly. Guilt comes over him as the man rests back in his chair, hand on his head and looking stressed. Danny trusts him enough, though. He jumps straight up to fly through the roof but smacks into it instead. He holds back a gasp and turns intangible this time, flying slowly through the night. He's passing over an old building when he stops midair, still invisible as he has been the entire time, and dives straight down through he house to its basement. He wastes no extra time in changing to human form and begins punching the maroon sack hanging by chains from the ceiling.

About a month previously, Ember had thrown him into this old house. He caught sight of the old punching bag before he rejoined the fight and later got the idea to have it as his space. The building was owned by the city because nobody wanted it. If anybody new moved into town, they chose some of the newer houses which had been vacated after Danny's battle with Pariah Dark. It wasn't costing the city anything but a small portion of taxes while just sitting there and wasn't a health risk, so they didn't bother demolishing it. After checking with Tucker, Danny began using the old basement as a personal gym of sorts. He never practiced with his powers, but worked on becoming stronger and better at fighting in his human form in case that form was all he had at any point.

Over the month since finding it, he had only been able to visit it four times, but always got to stay a long time when he did go there. Right now, he pretends the bag is Vlad coming back and starts punching and kicking it in routines much smoother than they used to be. Though not much of his ghostly strength transfers to his human form, his stamina is the same as long as he eats and drinks enough which is why the second time he came, he stocked the basement with a decent amount of water bottles and things like crackers and Pop-tarts, all protected in layers of bags and hidden intangibly in the cement basement walls.

He remains in the basement for almost six hours, taking regular breaks and keeping himself hydrated properly. When he decides he's practiced enough for one night, he morphs to Phantom then turns invisible and intangible once again before flying back to the Op Center. Just as he's about to go back inside, he notices Jazz staring out her window at the sky behind him. She's curled tight on herself with Bearbert and looking worried.

His sensitive hearing picks up her saying "I'm trying. I love you, Little Brother. Stay safe wherever you are." Sadness fills him. He'd been putting off his emotions since he left, electing to distract himself instead, but now they begin to fill every crevice of his mind. Rather than going straight to the Op Center like planned, Danny dives silently into his own bedroom and to the closet. It takes him no time to find what he's getting, having always made sure it remained in its place despite not having used it since he was about ten. He floats back up and curls himself up on his chair, letting the hurt from his parents' rejections roll over him until he drifts off into a light, nightmare ridden sleep with his Neil Bearstrong stuffed bear held in a death grip against himself.

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_Soooo I wanted to make sure to remind everyone that, despite everything he's been through, Danny's still a kid. I mean, he can still see Youngblood! I made the bear part in figuring that, if Jazz has an old stuffed bear based off her hero, why wouldn't Danny have one as well? So I played off his dream of being an astronaut for it, even if Neil Armstrong might not have been his hero._

_On another note, I will give a virtual cookie to anyone who can say honestly that they knew Danny wasn't very far from home~ Sorry again that it's short. Next chapter will probably be the longest, though. Sorry if it ends up late because of such XD Have a nice day!~ F,F, &amp; R!_


	6. Chapter 6

_AN: Ciao!~ I am SO happy that I got this to you guys on time! :D I actually have to thank a guest reviewer because I was having writer's block until he/she reviewed (this was actually back on chapter 3, but the ideas are just now making it to the published fic) and sparked an idea for me! So THANK YOU! And thank you to everyone else who reviews as well. It really makes my night when my phone goes off with emails about them :) Everyone, please enjoy~_

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*Jazz- in the morning*

Growing up with the way her family had always been, Jazz had long gotten used to being woken by strange events occurring whether they be explosions from a breakfast attempt or her brother fighting a ghost right outside or simply cheering from a long night spent successfully. Over the years, she had learned to even sleep through it. The one things Jazz had never gotten used to being woken by, though, was screaming. Therefore, when a screech followed by a crash pounded into her eardrums, she shot up in her bed, more aware than Danny in a fight. She simply stared at the source of the noises, wanting to sigh and shake her head but deciding to be polite and refrain.

The white-haired girl in an awkward, upside-down hunch against Jazz's bedroom wall managed to get herself out of the pretzel form and righted before realizing she wasn't alone. Jazz smiled at her "cousin".

"Good morning, Dani. How are you?" she asked the somewhat-frazzled pre-teen. Dani smiled back at her upon realizing she was not upset at being woken up.

"Hey, Jazz! I'm alright. I'm just pretty tired. I've been flying since Danny called me yesterday. He told me basically what had happened. Do you have any idea where he's at, yet?"

"Not a clue. I haven't really tried to think about it, though. If we find him, then his disappearance will mean nothing to Mom and Dad except fuel for their fire. Also, why did you come crashing into my room, screaming?"

Dani rubbed the back of her neck, looking so much like Danny it made Jazz feel a pang of sadness for him.

"I, uh, sort of fell asleep while flying... I woke up just before hitting your window and screamed. Went intangible in time, though!" Jazz knew if Danny were here, he'd facepalm at their "cousin" just as Jazz wanted to, but she refrained, electing for a sigh and a smile that said "silly you" instead. This was her first time meeting Danielle, and she didn't want to offend her. She had grown up with her brother, so she had no clue how exactly to interact with someone like either of them who she hadn't been talking to since childhood. Plus, she didn't even really know Dani. Sure, she has to be at least somewhat like Danny, but just because she's a clone doesn't mean she's exactly like him, especially with her upbringing.

"Well, I hope you're okay. Do you want to go down and meet Mom and Dad? Or would you rather sleep first?"

"I think I'd prefer to sleep, thanks. Do you care if I use Danny's room? He's always preferred me staying in there when I'm over. Probably to hide me, mainly, but his bed is much more comfy than the one in the guest room. He doesn't even sleep on the guest room one when I'm over! He prefers the floor to it!" Dani smiled at the memories and Jazz wondered how many times Dani had spent the night. She'd never seen her before outside of a picture Sam had taken, so the two halfas were definitely good at hiding.

"Of course I don't mind. I don't think he would, either. I'll let them know you're here, though. Just so you can get some peace and quiet." Dani thanked Jazz then went off to the other room as Jazz began getting ready for school as her alarm went off just as Dani left. Though she had been accepted to all her dream schools, she had decided to study her first year of college online through the most local institute to be a support for Danny as he grew used to his new fame and life. After contacting and discussing it all with her counselors at Casper High and at Harvard (her chosen school), they both agreed she would be fine with the option and would be immediately accepted into Harvard the next year when she applied, saying she wouldn't even have to fill out a full application though she knew she would anyway.

However, life in her house had never been normal, so she always goes to the library or coffee shop to do her work, keeping on an exact schedule no matter what was occurring (as long as it was nothing near-death). She brushed through her hair, gathered her laptop and books, and went downstairs, glad to see her mother in the kitchen so she wouldn't have to go to the lab.

"I'm off to the café today. Try to be quiet, for a while, please. Danielle got here a little while ago and is exhausted. She needs sleep." Jazz kept her voice indifferent through it all then whirled around and left before the older woman could get a word in, deciding to eat breakfast at "Go Get 'Em! Café". She stopped by Casper on her way there, picking up a small stack of papers for her brother to keep up the charade of Danny being sick. She then continued on to the over-achieving building.

The café was fairly normal sized, but tried to hard to be upbeat. It didn't help that the few workers drank at least five cups of the coffee before starting the day, but Jazz preferred the atmosphere for her schoolwork. It was cheery enough that she didn't stand out, yet quaint enough to not be too loud. She ordered a bagel and a cappuccino then got to work.

*Dani- after leaving Jazz's room*

Danielle simply went through the wall from Jazz's bedroom to Danny's. Jazz had been pleasant yet hopelessly confused on how to interact with her. Dani understood why she felt the need for caution, though. She sighed comfortably after settling down on Danny's bed, changing to human form after the fact. She'd begun to miss being around people she knew, as the past few months had been spent flying around different parts of the world and Ghost Zone with visits to Danny every few weeks. In the time, the two halfas had gotten to know each other better. Well enough to find just how much they weren't and were alike through the little things.

Danny had hated toast for years, but Dani adored it. Neither of them liked soft, squishy beds like the one in the guest room. Danny still whole-heartedly had the dream of being an astronaut in his head (strengthened even more so from his multiple trips into space) while Dani had changed her mind on possible careers at least ten times since she had been stabilized. She loved the stars, but the thought of running into Vlad (if he was still alive) while in the blackness of space terrified her. It wasn't the only reason to change her mind, but it was definitely a prominent one. It was with the thoughts of her new dream, one which had stuck with her for months this time, that she drifted off into a peaceful sleep.

She was woken suddenly not half a hour later by a clang in the hallway, right outside the locked bedroom door.

"Shoot. She probably heard that," a woman's voice muttered from the other side. Dani disappeared on instinct, already knowing well who it was on the other side. She was surprised when there was a knock on the door, rather than the keys which had been dropped being used.

"Who is it?" Dani asked, not knowing what else to do. She really wanted sleep, but didn't want to be rude. After all, these people were genetically her parents, though technically she had none, and had been unknowingly feeding her most of her meals for months as Danny snuck her extra food.

"It's Maddie. Could you open the door, please? I would like to meet you." Her words were the opposite of her voice which was almost steel and coming through obviously gritted teeth. Dani shrugged to herself and went over to it. Before even thinking of unlocking it, she turned her head invisible and intangible then stuck it through the door to check it out. Maddie Fenton stood at the door looking severely frustrated, but had no weapons in sight. Only the small ring of keys. She did have weapons, though, as the woman could probably minimize and pack the RV in her back pocket with room for a million weapons on top of it. There wasn't any immediate danger, though, so Dani brought herself back inside and opened the door.

"Hi, Mrs. Fenton. It's nice to finally meet you. I'm Danielle Fenton, aka Dani Phantom," she said, holding out her hand and keeping an oblivious and polite smile on her face. Maddie's eyes showed confusion as she took the pre-teen's hand and shook it lightly.

"Maddie Fenton, but you already know that." She sighed, seeming to contemplate something for a moment before appearing to become welcoming. "Would you like something to eat? I just finished cooking breakfast, and you are a guest, after all. I would love for you to join us so we can get to know you some, Danielle." She smiled at Dani, her mask perfectly across her face but not enough. Dani could easily see in her eyes the insincerity of it all, but she decided to play along.

"Oh, thank you, Mrs. Fenton! That sounds great! I'll be down in just a minute after I brush my hair out." She flashed the red-head a winning smile and had to contain a chuckle as Maddie nodded once then made her way down the stairs, grumbling about "playing host to another ghost kid".

Danielle pulled her hair out of its ponytail, shook it out while running her hands through it, then put it back up, not even bothering to try calming most of the mess. She hated tangles, but actually liked the spiky style it took on naturally. She then dove through the floor and to the kitchen, undetectable by anything not specifically designed to detect ghosts. Maddie and Jack were both there, Jack already sitting down and eating while Maddie prepared two more plates. Dani watched every bit of the preparations, seeing nothing out of the ordinary before flying back upstairs then walking down completely normally. She entered and smiled again.

"Wow, it looks and smells awesome, Mrs. Fenton! Thank you! And it's nice to meet you, Mr. Fenton. I'm Danielle." The normally eccentric man flashed her a tiny smile that didn't even begin to reach his eyes.

"Aw, thank you, Sweetie. You go on and have your seat. I poured you milk and apple juice since that's what Danny usually has with his breakfast." Dani had to give her props. She could act much better than one would expect her to, but it was still not enough to fool a half-ghost who had super sensitive hearing. Dani sat in the seat she expected Danny usually sat in, trying not to let that one small part of the comment bother her, but relatively failing.

She thanked her again as Maddie placed the last two plates on the table and sat down. The air grew thick with awkwardness as Maddie began eating. Dani, on the other hand, was still wary. Something honestly smelled off about the eggs on her plate, but not anything of the normal sort. It definitely didn't smell like it was something good, but yet it was extremely familiar. She realized what it was when the small portion on Maddie's fork, being brought to the woman's mouth, opened a glowing, red eye.

"Wait!" she shouted, startling both the adults, Maddie dropping the fork back to her plate. The eye closed on the impact. Maddie shot Danielle a look. "These eggs are infused with ectoplasm. I can smell it. Plus, the bite that was on your fork had an eye," Dani explained. Maddie sighed.

"Danielle, it's been over a year since anything ectoplasmic got anywhere near that refrigerator. I bet you just saw something that wasn't there. Hmm, maybe the ghost powers cause hallucinations sometimes, too? What do you think, Jack?" Dani felt her blood boiling. She wanted to jump up on her seat and yell her head off at Maddie, but she bit her tongue and held herself still. It would make things worse for Danny if she misbehaved.

"There was that time when Danny kept thinking he was seeing a ghost when none of us could. Maybe it _does_ affect them." Jack brought up, actually looking up from his plate for a moment.

"Exactly. Even more reason to-" she cut off as she remembered who else was in the room, looking at Dani who was steaming silently in her seat, glaring holes in the table. Maddie huffed and began eating again. "Get to eating, Danielle. I made that food for you, and you said you wanted it. Go on and eat it."

Dani held herself from throwing a glare at Maddie and slowly took a tiny bite of her biscuit. It tasted completely normal, but she still didn't want to trust it. She focused for a moment and managed to turn her innards from mouth to through the chair below her so the bite literally went straight through her. She knew she couldn't eat everything and hide it like that, especially since the small amount of time was already exhausting her. She hated to, but she slowly took another bite and kept it this time, praying there was nothing she couldn't taste within.

It continued that way for the rest of breakfast with Dani eating bite by bite and Jack and Maddie silently finishing their own breakfasts. As the two adults finished, they stood together.

"Just put your plate in the sink. I'll clean them later," Maddie told her before the couple left the room and disappeared downstairs. As soon as the door was shut, Dani put down her fork and picked up the plate. She dumped the remaining food (which was still most of the plate) by turning a closed container partially intangible to where it was left inside and tossing the biscuit bite in there as well. She would have to go out for food after sleeping more. She headed out of the kitchen, intending to flop onto Danny's bed for the next several hours. It was from her sleepiness that she ever noticed she wasn't alone in the room until it was too late and her world was going black.

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_I hope Dani seems like she's in character, but there's not really much given to her character in the show in comparison. I mean, she's (sadly) only in two episodes besides the cameo in PP. I wanted her to be somewhat like Danny, but still her unique person as she really is._

_This chapter didn't turn out as long as I was expecting, mainly because I wanted to leave you guys with that pretty little cliffhanger~ It was just too perfect :D And, yes, this means there will FINALLY be some action coming up soon! I can't promise it will be the next chapter, but no later than chapter 8. As for how long this whole fic will end up being, I don't really know. I have several ideas, but I can't say how long they'll be written out. Anyways, F, F, and R!~_


	7. Chapter 7

_Hey, guys!~ I'm amazed I got this to you on time. I had a real problem at one point in it. Nothing sounded right, but I randomly got over it and it's good now :) Sadly, this still doesn't have the action I keep telling you guys is coming. I promise there will be! It's just taking more angst than I suspected to get there XD Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy!~_

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Dani came to with one thought filling every crevice of her mind.

'_Vlad is back. Vlad is back. Vlad is back. Vlad is ba-'_ was on a loop, the moods of which alternating between fury and absolute terror. The fear intensified when she was awake enough to realize she couldn't get up. The worry was shoved aside by confusion then understanding and anger as she was finally able to open her eyes.

"Oh, drat. I was hoping she'd stay asleep longer," complained Maddie, looking away from Dani though standing next to her. Dani knew from many stories on how hopeless Jack and Maddie are at catching ghosts, but this also meant nobody knew what they were like after they really had caught one. Dani had the misfortune of being the first, apparently. She immediately began glancing around everywhere she could see, though it was only the things in her current field of vision. She was in the Fenton's lab and wasn't strapped down, but still couldn't move anything besides her face and whatever muscles needed for breathing. Maddie and/or Jack had knocked her out somehow and put her like this.

_'Great. Just perfect. I guess Danny's bad luck really is genetic for me to have it, too_.' She observed everything she could within a few seconds and immediately began planning.

"So why exactly did you feel the need to knock out and paralyze your niece?" she asked, hoping this wasn't what her mind had just thought of. Her prayers were thrown right back with a rejected stamp as Maddie answered.

"Well, since we can't exactly capture Danny separate his halves, then we decided we could do the process on you. Once it succeeds, we can show Danny that it won't hurt him. We're almost done collecting the data needed, so you won't have to be like this much longer. Once you're separated, the temporary paralysis will only affect the ghost you." Dani wished she could facepalm at the pure idiocy of that assessment.

"Not that I have experience with science or anything, you know, only being made in a lab and then taught how to use everything created by an evil, fruitloop scientist, but don't you think that plan has some holes in it? I mean, for one, how are you going to contact Danny to tell him about it?" Maddie ignored her, turning away towards where Dani knew the computer to be. "And furthermore and more importantly, the whole thing might have had a chance to work on Danny properly, but you will _kill me if you do this_!" Maddie came back into Dani's view then with an odd look on her face.

"And how is that? It's happened to Danny, and he's perfectly fine. I see no reason it would hurt you when it didn't hurt him." She smiled at in an odd way, making Dani seriously wonder if the woman was still mentally stable.

"You really don't get it, do you? Since you know me, I'm sure you know that I'm a clone. The only thing keeping me alive is the stabilization of my ghost half. I was turning into goop for months before Danny saved me with it. If you take my ghost powers away from me, I will turn to goop again. **ALL** of me." Maddie turned away once again and went back out of sight before replying.

"But Danielle your ghost half isn't part of you. Don't you see? Your human half has always been stable, so it would just be the ghost you who might disappear. Also, I'm sure Jack and I could make sure we prevent that from happening. Don't want anybody, human or ghost, dying on us." Dani _really_ wanted to facepalm again. Just how blind could two people be?! An idea did come to her then, though.

"Well, I disagree. I'm smart, you know, and I know myself and my limits better than anybody else. I say that I KNOW this whole thing would kill me. If you are really crazy enough to try it, then at least test it on some of my blood first. If you don't and kill me, then Danny will definitely **NEVER** forgive you **nor** come back home. Not to mention that I'm sure him and Jazz would find a way to get you both arrested for it as well as all the other crimes that have piled onto you guys for years." Dani wished she could see the expressions of the two, but both were out of her range. She also wished she could itch her foot as some of her toes had a tingly feeling.

"What do you mean by that, Ghost Girl?" Jack asked in a steel voice. Dani probably would've jumped at it if she could as she never would've expected Jack to be someone who could sound so dangerous. So sharp. So much like... Vlad.

"I mean that you both are very lucky to have not been arrested after Danny saved the Earth. No matter how busy or how much the kid tries to hide it, there is no way that what you two have done to Danny for the past couple years isn't considering Child Neglect."

_'SHUT UP, DANI_!' she mentally fussed at herself. She knew she was treading on thin ice with these two possibly unstable yet very capable ghost hunters, but she just kept talking. That was one of the bigger differences between her and Danny. In her time away from Amity Park, Dani had managed to develop a slight Big-Mouth-Complex. She could keep secrets extremely easily, but holding in the rest of her thoughts and words was a problem. She wished she could hit herself as Maddie stomped the couple steps over to her and jerked her so Dani was in a sitting position, but was only supported by the wild-eyed woman in front of her.

"Don't you dare suggest we don't love our son. We're doing all of this be_cause_ we love him! We want him to be able to have a normal, happy life where he won't deal with the stress of fighting and won't have to put himself in danger! Why can't you people understand that?!" Maddie lessened her grip on Dani's immobile shoulders as tears began pouring down her face. Dani could see Jack sitting at one of the desks. He hadn't turned around, but he wasn't doing anything in front of himself either. Dani wasn't sure what to think of it all. She did know it made her impossibly more concerned for the Fenton mother's mental health.

"Look, Mrs. Fenton, I didn't mean it like that. Everybody knows you guys care about your son. The neglect I was talking about was the fact that, for two years, neither of you noticed that your son was half-ghost. He got his powers in this very lab. He almost died in this very lab because you didn't lock it up well enough. While he takes full responsibility for everything, it wasn't completely his stupid decision. It was everything that allowed to his to make that stupid decision. You say people don't get why you want to separate Danny's DNA. The reason for that is because it makes no sense! If you want him to be happy then let him do what _makes_ him happy. If you tear him into two people, I doubt either version would ever be happy again." Dani felt proud of herself for keeping such a level head and getting through all of that, especially since most of her legs were now itchy. Surely it would do at least a little to help Danny... right?

For the second time that morning, Dani might as well have had a "_rejected_" sticker slammed on her forehead.

"Danny was perfectly happy before his powers. Since he got them, he's been constantly around hazards to himself and his friends. Not to forget that he is my son. I know what's best for him, and he should be listening to us! It's Phantom who keeps him from doing it!" She huffed at the end of her statement half-laid, half-dropped Dani back onto the table she'd been on before and stepped back to the desk before going back to Dani once again. "Now, as for you, Danielle. You may not be my daughter and not in my custody, but you are living under my roof at the moment. I- I realize now that it gives me no right to test this on you without permission. However, you suggested it, so I will be taking some blood. That's all. Wouldn't want to get in trouble with the law, now would we? We have to get our son back," Maddie said, holding up an empty, normal-sized needle while doing so.

If Dani could move, she would have been shaking from fear, but not of Maddie or Jack. Simply of just how much they sounded like Vlad right now. As it was, she tried squishing it down from her head. Maddie didn't wait for a reply and simply drew the blood, anyway. Dani was honestly thankful for it, though. She knew she wouldn't have been able to keep it out of her voice just how troubled she was by this similar pattern. She needed to talk to Jazz. And maybe try getting Danny to answer his cell phone. It took only a moment for Maddie to draw the blood with Dani being able to feel none of it. After a moment of disappearing from view again, she returned with an odd-looking box.

"I could lie to you, but I don't know if this will hurt or not. I didn't bother checking the functioning of the reverse charge for the paralysis," Maddie told her far too calmly before pressing a button on it. Much like a Police taeser, two cords shot from the end of the box, lodging themselves into Dani's leg where they'd been pointed. Dani held back a yelp as they dug in but couldn't do so with the shock that ripped through her after it. It hardly had any strength, but it _**HURT**_. The actual shock disappeared almost as soon as it started, leaving Dani free to move again though she now did not want to. She forced herself to sit at, kept from cringing at the examination table she had been on, and jumped off of it. Maddie had already begun testing with the blood she had collected. Dani immediately started leaving the room but was so tense that she doubted she'd get some sleep here. Just as she reached the first step, she paused and spoke without turning around.

"You know, I don't trust easy or a lot. Not that either of you probably care, but you just ruined your chance for me to trust you for a very long time. After all, why should I? Sticking me on an examination table, having a voice of hate, doing things to avoid deserved legal trouble, and expecting your kids to do absolutely everything you tell them to just because you want your perfect little fantasized family. Every single thing the two of you just did was something Vlad has done to me." Something clattered behind her, but she didn't bother to look at she turned invisible before running up the stairs and locking herself in Danny's room, grabbing the keys which had been left on the living room floor on the way.

She sat against the door for a few moments, trying to relax. She felt terrible for Danny and wished she could be hiding with him. She had wanted to stay in his house in hopes of helping show his parents to truth, but she didn't think she could after this. She needed sleep desperately still, but that wouldn't be possible if she had to remain paranoid. She thought for a moment, forcing her exhausted mind to come up with ideas when finally she did think of something.

"I bet I can hide out in the Op Center until I get some sleep. Danny just called me to help protect the town, so I have to get myself back in order, somehow." The idea seemed good, so she grabbed Danny's pillow and blanket before morphing and floating upward through the roof. She was a mere two feet from the window and what was sure to be sweet relief of sleep when her ghost sense went off.

"**Oh _COME ON_**!" She whirled around, looking for whichever ghost was daring to hold her up from her sleep still.

"BEWARE!" Dani lifted the pillow in her hand and smacked herself in the face with it at the all-too-familiar voice. She then simply dropped them onto the roof, making a mental note to make sure they weren't dirty later on.

"Really? _**REALLY?!** _Of all the possible times for you to show up, you decide to do it when I'm about to sleep? _Really_, Box Ghost?" Dani crossed her arms and glared heavily at the blue annoyance. It was then she remembered. She didn't have a thermos on her. _'Aw, crud_.'

"I do not care for your foolish mortal needs, Ghost Girl! As my square army of terror has just gained its newest member!" The Box Ghost continued to pull out an ornate, wooden box from absolutely nowhere, as was usual. "Face the wrath of my Joom Box! Hehe, get it? I combined jewelry and doo-AHHH!" Having lost patience, Dani had let off an ectoblast at him, but not to where he couldn't dodge it. She knew hitting him would actually cause a fight which she couldn't put up with right now. As it was, she didn't need to be putting so much strain on herself when she didn't know just how well the Ecto-Dejecto had worked. Danny had hid some extra in case, but she had no clue where at.

"Listen closely, Box Ghost. I am not in the mood, okay? I don't have a thermos on me right now, but that doesn't mean I can't do something about you. Either you take yourself back to the Ghost Zone within the time I count to five, or I take your new box, give it back in an unfriendly way, and throw you back in myself. Which would you rather do?" Dani flashed her eyes brighter at him. If she wouldn't have been so exhausted, she would have fallen over laughing at how quickly the Box Ghost dove down into the sidewalk below. Dani slowly floated down, collected the pillow and blanket then drifted up and into the Op Center, not even looking around before crashing on the floor.

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_Never get me wrong, I absolutely love The Box Ghost. I also just happen to love using (and abusing) him in fics :D I remind again, I can't promise next week's will be on time, but I'll try. For now, F, F, &amp; R!~_


	8. Chapter 8

_AN: Ciao!~ :D Hello my lovely readers~ Hope you've all been well :) You know, I'm going to be honest. Every single time I say that I can't promise the next one will be on time, but I've yet to fail on being on time except with one chapter that was only late by half an hour. That doesn't mean I'll stop saying it, though. XD I really can't promise the next one will be on time, either! I try my hardest, but life can be a b sometimes, so I don't want to promise anything I might break :) It probably doesn't help that I've done most of these chapters on Wednesday nights and in one long sitting each XD Anyway, hope you enjoy!~_

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_**~Meanwhile~**_

Danny is in his chair/temporary-bed, bored out of his mind. He had woken up at a surprisingly early time for a day where he wouldn't have to go to school and completed the homework Lancer had given to Jazz (which Danny had snuck from her and made copies of) within the first couple hours of being awake. As soon as he had woken up, he'd morphed to ghost-form to put off eating for a while, deciding evening would be the only time of day he would let himself leave the Op Center as it was the only one that really made sense. There would be less chance of being seen as everybody would be heading indoors to eat and settle down with the night yet early enough that none of the maniac tourists would suspect him to be out as they, ridiculously, loved looking for him at night and pretty much everywhere but his house.

He sighs, remembering some of his most difficult escapes from fans to pass the time. There had been quite a few, one of the worst being a middle-aged woman who managed to catch him by the ankle with ghost-proof rope, reeled him in, and tried forcing him to sign a marriage contract. Luckily, his sister was able to find him in time before she succeeded. He's still thinking of the way his sister started trying to psychologically figure out the older fangirl when his ghost sense goes off, and he groans.

"You've got to be kidding m-" he starts to complain before a shout cuts him off.

"_Oh, COME ON_!" Danny freezes at the voice, knowing exactly who it is and realizing how close she is. He floats into the air as silently as possible then starts hiding all evidence of his camp in the oddest places. There isn't a place for the jumbo bean-bag chair, so he picks it up and turns it invisible with himself, listening outside for what was going on.

"-_take your new box, give it back in an unfriendly way, and throw you back in myself. Which would you rather do_?" Dani finishes. There's a slight whoosh which Danny recognizes, realizing that The Box Ghost (as other ghosts had an obsession with boxes) had just dove away from Dani, probably going to hide. Danny keeps still as Dani phases into the Op Center, drops Danny's pillow on the ground, and flops herself down, falling asleep within moments. Danny silently turns around and phases out of the Op Center.

"Why is she sleeping in there? And, aw, crud. Where am I supposed to go?! I can't risk going to the basement during the day when someone might hear me. If I stay outside in this form, I'm bound to be detected by some equipment soon. If I go anywhere in human form, I'll pass out from lack of food within an hour since I haven't eaten anything since last night. Hmm.." Danny continues his thoughts in his head, trying to think of any place which would be safe for him to hide for the day. With how exhausted Dani had looked, she would obviously be asleep for hours as long as nothing woke her up.

Thinking about his cousin, Danny gets an idea of somewhere to go. He starts flying quickly, gaining speed as he goes. There had been one place he'd been meaning to check on for the last several weeks, but hadn't gotten to. It would take him only about an hour if he went there at top speed.

The trip takes about two hours as Danny slows and watches the land run beneath him until he's coming up on the giant mansion in the middle of Wisconsin forest. He lands in front of the grandest of Vlad's former homes, looking around at the changes. Within the months since its abandonment after the police finished their searches of it, the yard has gone to hell where one can't tell weeds from grass. The mansion itself has seen better days as it already looks as though it had been empty for years rather than months with all the windows broken out from rocks and rude graffiti mocking and insulting its missing owner except a few parts where people had plastered Danny's emblem. Danny smirks at the sight of them, thinking about just how furious Vlad would be if he ever came back and saw them.

Danny had never once felt any real pity for Vlad since the elder halfa had vanished. Sure, some probably had expected him to feel it, but putting the entire world at risk then holding it hostage had crossed Danny's line for the last time. However, Danny hadn't felt any anger or hatred towards Vlad in the past several months, either. That had passed after about two weeks of being on edge and expecting him to return. Now, no feelings whatsoever remained in Danny when it came to Vlad. He supposes that's one of the big differences between the two of them. While Vlad had let his hatred and jealousy of Jack rule him for so long, Danny was able to let it go. If he didn't, he risked becoming a worse version of Dan.

Danny shakes his head and sighs to try clearing his head of the thoughts of it all and sets to work on the reason he came. He enters the mansion, not worried about any defense systems as his parents and the police had disabled and destroyed them before searching the place. Danny's surprised when he floats in and finds everything in tact. Not a thing had been stolen. He brushes it off along with the uneasy feeling at how eerie the place is and sets out toward the library and then dives down into the lab.

"Well, at least I know where my parents got their latest ideas from," he mutters to himself. Unlike the rest, the lab is torn apart with almost all of Vlad's weapons and inventions scattered and taken apart. Danny lands on an empty patch of floor and walks over to the Portal, looking at it. He notices the Ecto-Filtrator is almost full and immediately sets about searching for a new one. He can't care less about the mansion blowing up, but the Portal is another story. He's the only one with the password (he had been the only one to figure out the old one and changed it so that it didn't disturb him each time), so it was a great back-up Portal if their own was ever blocked to him. Not to mention, his parents and him had sealed up all the possible entrances, so now the only way in or out was phasing through.

He finds an unused Filtrator and quickly switches them out before pulling out his phone and putting it in his calendar to replace it in five and a half months, which would give two weeks in case he couldn't at that time. He puts his phone away and turns on the computer monitor and begins running a system check. He would've loved Tucker being here to do it instead, but he did know how to do it himself now that he was able to get a crash-course from his parents. As the check is running, he starts thinking more about his parents. Most particularly, the way they'd acted the past several months.

Never once had they shown any disgust in his powers or ghost-half. They gave him more freedoms than they ever had so his job could continue. He had thought the whole family had been growing much closer. Looking back, he realizes how many stupid times he missed signs. Neither had shown anything negative towards his ghost-half, but they hadn't been perfect in their masquerade. He had caught looks from them many times while they watched him fight. Underneath the worry for their son and the adrenaline from fighting, there had been something he had never been able to place that grew stronger each time he saw that look. Now he sees what it was. Resolve. Cold and impossibly blind.

The computer ding brings him out of his reverie. He looks at the screen to see that there are no problems with any of the software or mechanics. He sighs and looks around again. He had honestly been hoping something would be wrong with it just so there would be a task to do. In almost three years, he hadn't had this much free time as there was always something. Whether it was as simple as hanging out with Sam and Tucker or as difficult as homework or fighting ghosts, he was always moving. Sure, he complained about never having time to himself sometimes, but he never wanted a lot of it. He especially doesn't want this sort of situation every time he does want some time alone.

He gets up from the chair and looks around yet again then gets an idea. He goes back upstairs and starts looking around. It only takes a minute or two to find the cleaning supplies, and he gathers the items he deems necessary and takes them back down to the lab before going back upstairs and into the kitchen. The refrigerator had been cleaned out for probably months before the Disasteroid incident as Vlad had been living in Amity Park for a long time before then, but that didn't mean there would be no food in the house. Danny pokes his head through the pantry door, his eyes lighting up the dark room. He grins to himself and steps inside the rest of the way before grabbing a few cans of varying contents and a can opener. Just as always, Vlad had been prepared for something to happen or possibly just wished to avoid having to send someone shopping whenever he came to this estate.

Danny opens the can of beef ravioli, digs out a mostly clean bowl from the cabinets, and sticks the food in the microwave as all the power had been kept on with payments coming automatically out of Vlad's account like he had set up beforehand. The company claimed they weren't legally allowed to stop it without authorization from the payer. Nobody bothered to point out that they were just wanting money because nobody thought it necessary to save money for Vlad. While it heats up, he opens the can of peaches and the can of carrots. He finishes cooking the ravioli and carrots before setting all three dishes beside each other with utensils. He sits down and braces himself before morphing back to human form. He immediately feels light-headed and his stomach growls impatiently. He would have to be more careful about eating often enough.

"Maybe I should try sleeping in ghost form for a while," he groans before shakily beginning to eat. As he starts getting food in him, the shaking slowly stops, as do the others effects. They don't fill him completely, but he's not hungry anymore, either. As soon as he finishes, he morphs back to ghost form to prevent himself from getting hungry again too quickly. He then cleans up his mess before going back downstairs and beginning to clean up the lab.

It takes a couple hours to get it all done, but he's proud of himself once he finishes. The lab is the cleanest room in the house and definitely the safest. Danny puts away the cleaning supplies and washes his hands (the water company had said the same) before going back outside. It's still in the afternoon, but he can easily just fly slower to get back in the evening. He launches himself into the sky but freezes as his ghost sense goes off and he hears a familiar whining of machinery.  
He whirls around to see a projectile coming at him. Danny immediately dodges the glowing net, managing to get out of its range in time.

"Skulker! What are you doing out?!" he exclaims before throwing himself out of the way of another net, watching the afore mentioned enemy. The cyborg ghost doesn't reply but simply continues shooting at Danny, switching over to missiles now. Danny destroys them in midair with a couple ice beams and shoots a stronger one at Skulker. He darts out of the way, but the beam clips his arm, freezing the gun which had been out. Skulker yelps.

"That was an expensive upgrade, whelp!"

"Don't care! Maybe if you didn't try killing me every single time you got a new upgrade, I wouldn't destroy then right away!" Skulker scowls and fires at him again, this time with a shoulder gun. Danny gives him a look and simply makes his body to have a hole in it.

"Seriously? A straight shot? Pretty sure the last time you tried that was the first time we met. Is the Great Hunter out of moves?" Danny grins at Skulker, loving the feeling of normalcy this was giving him. The grin disappears as Skulker gives him one back.

"Not at all, Ghost Child," he says just before Danny's rammed in the side. The force throws him to the ground, and he feels a rib crack. He looks up, scowling at the flame-haired ghost beside the hunter.

"How's it going, Dipstick?" Ember asks, smiling in a sickly sweet way at him. Danny gets up from his crater and leaps into the air again, the rib already almost healed beneath his skin.

"Admittedly worse now that you two are out. How did you even get out of the Ghost Zone this time? The Portal's sealed shut. Plus, what are you going here of all places?"

"Oh, please. You can't be forgetting the fact that there are Natural Portals, can you?" Ember asks, her tone making the "Duh" unneeded. She glances over at Skulker quickly, though.

"Oh, sure, it was pure luck that you found one right next to Vlad's where there's a non-natural Portal right next to it. I totally believe that." The sarcasm cheers Danny up even more. Everything had been so serious the past couple days, but this moment would be different. The comment give him the desired affect as well. The ghostly couple glares at him for a moment before nodding to each other and spreading apart to be on either side of Danny.

Danny puts a hand out towards each of them, palms glowing green then does something that surprises his adversaries. He closes his eyes and keeps them that way. Skulker and Ember share a look with each other before nodding again. Ember pulls around her guitar and slams an ice blue chord just as Skulker fires two missiles, both glowing blue.

Danny smirks to himself.

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_I finally started with the action I've been promising! And left you guys with a cliffhanger in the middle of it :) XD Just remember, no matter how much I torture you all, I love my readers!~ :D F, F, &amp; R!~_


	9. Chapter 9

_AN: Hello my lovelies!~ I JUST finished this chapter XD I just couldn't write last night, but it's still on time!~ :D To my readers of Awkward Conversations, I regret to inform that I don't have a new chapter for it this week. I hope this isn't too awkward or bad. I don't have a lot of experience writing fight scenes. XD Enjoy!~_

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Knowing it would confuse them, Danny had decided to rely on his sensitive hearing in his predicament. He hears Ember's first and reacts to the chord by throwing up a shield on that side of himself. It was a chord he didn't recognize, meaning she had gotten some equipment upgrades as well. At the same time, he swipes his other hand with a drawn-out ectoblast. His blast hits the rockets, but they're still coming at him, so he brings his shield around to over himself the rest of the way, opening his eyes to keep a better guard up.

The chord and missiles hit the shield at the same time and do something Danny hadn't expected possible. They freeze his shield around him. He hears a triumphant cry from Skulker outside the white ice bubble around him and Ember laughing as well. Danny focuses on the ice around him, reaching out towards it with his own ice-wielding powers. It refuses to bend at first, but he pushes against it with his energy harder. Ember and Skulker have gone quiet, so Danny suspects they're watching and waiting to attack the moment he gets free. If they did so right now, they would just be helping him.

Danny grinds his teeth and gives the ice another shove, but it barely cracks it. He lets off the ice powers, thinking. He had made the shield of ectoplasm... so it was still there as well, right? He feels a small, constant drag of energy seeping from him to answer his question. He draws the shield towards himself against the inside layer of ice. This time it works, the inside layer splintering and snapping until it's all in the bottom of his shield. He then redirects the shield, shoving it outwards. It succeeds once again, throwing the ice away from him in chunks. He grins and lets it drop, wanting to laugh at the faces of his two foes.

Skulker is the first to react, pulling an ecto-grenade from his shoulder strap, activating it, and tossing it towards Danny, who merely goes intangible and remains as such as it explodes on the ground below him, covering the trees with sticky, purple goop. He returns tangibility just in time to get slammed with Ember's punch chord, which throws him downwards into the goop.

"Aw, man! Do you people KNOW how impossible it is to get this dry-cleaned?" he complains, ignoring the slight pain from the hit and landing. He gets up and shakes most of it off of himself, but it stains his gloves slightly. He lifts his head to glare at them for it, but instead has to dive to the side to avoid Skulker ramming into him. He backs himself straight into Ember who gets him in a headlock with her guitar. He catches it before she can contain him all the way and starts heating up his hands with ectoplasm. She yelps and rips away her guitar before it can melt. He redirects the heat into ectoblasts, one behind him so it hits her stomach and the other in front to take out the gun that had just risen from Skulker's suit.

_'Skulker and Mom should trade tips on carrying weapons,_' goes through Danny's mind, but he doesn't have time to laugh at himself as he dodges a plume of fire from Ember then yet another missile from Skulker. He shoots a blast of ice at Ember, hitting her guitar. She screeches and starts trying to melt it with her hair as carefully as she can. While she's distracted, Danny rockets upward then loops around, gaining speed before slamming himself into Skulker's chest. He pushes him into a tree and forms an extremely hard icicle with a flattened end in his hand. He jams it into the side (ignoring Skulker's protests and attempts to push him off) and maneuvers the protective head off of Skulker's suit. It tumbles off onto the ground. Danny lets go of his hold on the rest of the suit and scoops up the fallen fake head. He reaches to his belt with his left hand then freezes when nothing is there. He starts patting around his belt with both hands. To his dismay, his thermos isn't there.  
He internally curses his own stupidity, but pulls Skulker out of the remaining bit of his suit anyways.

"Curse you, Phantom! You will rue the times you have done this to me, I swear it! I shall make you pay before putting your pelt on my wall!" he squeaks at Danny. Danny switches to holding him with by one foot to prevent being bitten (as he had done so before) and tries thinking of how to get him back into the Ghost Zone. He's thinking so hard, he forgets he wasn't fighting just one ghost and only remembers when he kicked in the side by a pair of steel boots. He cries out on the impact as it snapped several ribs and instinctively lets go of whatever he's holding to try grasping the pained area. Skulker lands with a tiny thump before being picked up my Ember rather gently.

She says something to him, but Danny doesn't hear for trying to breathe. He's used to ribs and other bones breaking, but it didn't help him breathe better whether he was used to it or not. The pain subsides enough for him to regain his senses mostly and just in time to avoid being punched in the face. He quickly directs ice energy to the area around the ribs, dulling the pain enough to focus again. He starts fighting hand-to-hand with Ember.

It takes almost three hours of the two going at it before he finally encases her in a floating shield, Ember now too worn out to gain enough power to break it. Skulker had been officially down for the fight for about ten minutes now. Danny still doesn't know what to do with them, though.

"Where can I take them? I have nothing to tie them up with. I don't have a Port-" Danny stops in his thinking aloud and smacks himself in the head. He picks up the unconscious Skulker and has the globe around Ember move behind him. He floats calmly back to Vlad's mansion and into the hidden lab, unlocking the Portal, and tossing Skulker through. Ember's glaring at him, but he smiles sweetly at her before forcing her through as well. He closes and locks the Portal back before letting the energy around her subside.

He waits several minutes to make sure they aren't coming back out then returns to Skulker's broken suit. He starts destroying it, making sure it couldn't be put together again. The longer it took Skulker to get a new suit, the longer Danny could go without his antics. It was worrisome to know the cyborg ghost had no objections to getting help from his girlfriend at least. Though he's beaten her every time, he had never really fought Ember enough to know all her fighting styles, making it more difficult on him. He uses his powers to lump all the broken pieces together and takes them into the house for more proper disposal as Sam would kill him if she were to ever find out.

A pang of loneliness slams into at the thought of his girlfriend. What had she thought when she read his letter? Does she love him back? Is she mad at him now or does she just miss him? The questions continue to swirl around his head as he cares for his mess and eats again before he finally just drops his head to the table and starts hitting it against the wood repeatedly. After about the tenth time, he just leaves his head down. He stays that way for several minutes before picking himself back up and standing.

"I can't keep doing this. I just need to keep busy.. yeah, that'll work. Right?" He sighs at not knowing his own answer before walking out of the mansion and taking to the sky once again. He forces his head to clear and just enjoys the flight, watching the sky change colors as night sets in. It's around ten when he gets back home. He listens outside the Op Center for several minutes, retrieves his chair from its hiding place in the garage, and settles himself down, not quite tired yet but having nothing else to do. He leaves his other items in their hiding places in case Dani comes back up. He's still not sure why she had slept in here this morning, but it would probably be a while before he could find out.

There's suddenly a shout from below him. He jumps at it and looks at the floor, despite knowing he couldn't see anything through it. Something's going on inside the house... and it probably isn't good. He goes invisible and intangible then lets himself drop through the floor until he pauses in the kitchen where he meets an.. interesting scene.

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_I hope that fight wasn't too terrible XD And, yes, the cliffhanger was necessary~ :D F, F, &amp; R!~_


	10. Chapter 10

_Hellooooooo!~ Another Thursday, another chapter! :D So, as of now, there are two ways this story could end up going. One is much shorter, but it'll be less for me to think of since I have most of it in my head while the other route might cause me delays on chapters. Therefore, I'm not entirely sure how long this will end up being XD I originally estimated ten chapters for it, but here we are at ten and definitely not finished XD Oh well. :) More for you guys, my lovely readers!~ Enjoy!~_

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Dani woke up calmly and slowly, stretching the kinks out of her body as she sat up then rubbed her eyes. It took her a moment to remember where she was and why she felt like she'd been sleeping on a rock. She pretty much had been since there was thick steel just below the tile floor of the Op Center. She stands and shakes her head a bit to clear the fog of sleep. It had been probably a year since she'd slept so deeply and never had she done so before that. It had been from stress and overworking herself that time, too. She eeped quietly as her stomach startled her by growling. With the attention called to it, she was almost floored by her empty stomach.

She picked up the pillow and blanket she'd borrowed and turned intangible, letting herself drop down through the steel and roof and into the hallway of the second floor. She dropped off the comfort items in Danny's room before hurrying down the stairs. A quick listen told her Jack and Maddie were in the lab, working as usual though she obviously didn't know what it was. She snuck to the kitchen and stuck her head into it, not wanting to make herself known just yet. There was nothing she thought looked very edible and her favorite snacks were just too noisy for sneaking. She pulled back out of the fridge and looked around for a moment before going silently to the front door and through it, making her way towards the library in hopes Jazz was there.

She was about there when she paused and back-tracked a few steps, looking through the window of the Café she had just passed and going in upon recognizing the vibrant red hair of her cousin/sister/relative-of-some-sort. She walked up beside her and waited as Jazz was too absorbed in her class work to notice the younger teem beside her. As it is, she only did because she caught Dani's reflection in her screen and jumped about a mile from her seat.

"Dani! Don't sneak up on me like that! I get enough of Danny doing it at home," she exclaimed. Dani held back a smile at the reaction, guessing Danny did it on purpose more often than Jazz realized.

"Sorry, Jazz. I was wondering... would you be able to get me some food? I hate to ask, but something happened this morning, so I didn't want to eat at your house. I'm really hungry, though, and I can pay you back as soon as possible if you need it," Dani spouted out as quickly as she could manage with it still being definable. She was looking down at her feet all the while, hating that she was having to ask. If someone offered, she was always up for accepting food right away. She loved food and needed a lot of it with her halfa physiology. She hated asking for it, though, as begging for almost a year had taught her what could happen if you asked the wrong person. Sure, Jazz was basically family, but she was still uncomfortable with it. Jazz immediately got up from her seat and put a hand on Dani's shoulder.

"Of course, Dani! You're telling me about what happened this morning as soon as I finish my paper, but why wouldn't I buy you some food?" She smiled at Dani before leading her to the counter and telling her to order whatever she wanted. Being a café, they didn't have much to offer with nothing "cheap", so Dani got a cinnamon roll, which turned out to be as big as her plate. She sat across from Jazz and began scarfing it down as Jazz finished her homework.

Dani ate her last bite just as Jazz closed her laptop and looked at her meaningfully. Dani chugged a few gulps of her drink before sighing and beginning her tale of that morning. As she goes on, Jazz slowly loses her ever-present calm demeanor and anger takes its place. Dani felt somewhat awkward by the end as Jazz silently glared over the younger girl's head at nothing.

"You okay, Jazz?" she asked, starting to grow worried about the red-head. She then remembered the stereotype of people with red hair being naturally more angry. She had never heard of Danny saying his sister was proof of said stereotype, but the look on her face was almost enough to convince Dani of it. The young adult remained quiet while Dani was beginning to expect steam to start coming from her ears she looked so furious. Dani cleared her throat and tried again. "Jazz?"

That time, Jazz snapped out of it, looking at Dani with her gaze softening, but the anger still lingering everywhere else.

"Not really... Are you finished eating? Because, if you are, we have somewhere to go," she told Dani, teeth clenched through the first part. Dani nodded, actually getting slightly afraid. She had a feeling this was a side of Jazz most never saw and probably didn't want to see. Dani was just glad this wasn't directed at her, but it made her uneasy, still. If Jazz were to say the wrong thing to her parents... what would happen? Jazz stood from her chair and helped Dani clean her mess away before collecting her school items and motioning for Dani to follow. She does and they're soon back to the house, courtesy of Jazz having driven that morning. Dani followed her inside the house, wincing as the door slammed against the wall.

"Mom! Dad! Get up here, now! I need to talk to you!" she called out, not even bothering to get closer to the lab door but simply raising her voice. After a few moments, there were footsteps on the stairs until Jack and Maddie were right in front of them, looking somewhat confused at first. Both their expressions hardened when their eyes landed on Danielle. Jazz cleared her throat to get their attention back on her the pointed at the couch, looking more like the parent of the situation... which made Dani the tattle-tell. Great. Jazz half-stomped to the living room and began pacing. Maddie and Jack followed, sitting themselves on the couch while Dani lingered awkwardly in the doorway. She felt so out of place.

"Never, in my eighteen, almost nineteen, years of life, have I _EVER_ thought you two were capable of anything like this!" Jazz continued pacing while she spoke, furious venom in each word. This was not the Jazz everybody was used to. By the looks on their faces, you could tell even her parents weren't used to her being angry.

"Capable of what, Jasmine? We've done nothing wrong," Maddie quipped, though she didn't sound very confident in the statement. Dani avoided looking at either of her biological parents, electing to watch Jazz instead.

"_'Nothing wrong'_?! **HOW** can you say that **_CHILD ABUSE_ **is _'nothing wrong'_?!" she yelled at them, stopping and facing them.

_'I bet she'd have pyrokenesis as a ghost_,' ran through Dani's head. She shook it to clear the random thought, refocusing on the conversation. Maddie jumped up from her spot on the couch at the accusation.

"What are you talking about, Jasmine?! We have _never_ hurt you or Danny intentionally!" she protested, angry becoming visible in herself as well. Jack grew angry as well, but he stayed silent, knowing it was probably a bad idea to get into this when his wife would argue for them both.

"So, you think child abuse only applies to your legal children, huh?! Would it not be abuse if you just kicked some random kid on the street?!"

"Of course it would be!" Maddie took a step back from where her daughter stood seething, realizing only now just how enraged Jazz was. She met eyes with Jack, and Dani could see a message pass between them. They knew they'd messed up. Dani wanted to jump in right there, to tell Jazz what she saw, but she didn't. They knew they had messed up, but Dani had no way to know if they realized just how much yet.

"So then why in _hell_ would you consider attacking Danielle, making her immobile, almost forcing her ghost half from her (which **WOULD** have killed her), and then jamming her with a needle not counting as child abuse?! She is a child, after all! She's younger than Danny was when he was first scared of you! Because, believe it or not, Danny was _VERY_ scared of you both back when he first got his powers. He'd have been crazy not to be terrified considering every single day he would fight ghosts while avoiding you guys just to go home and listen to you threaten ghosts and show off your crazy weapons! Weapons that could've killed him, which is exactly what the two of you wanted to do! But, _you know what_?!" She paused, taking a breather and giving them a chance to answer.

Neither spoke up, Maddie being back on the couch and both of them appearing conflicted. That made Dani glad she hadn't stopped Jazz. They still didn't get it. Jazz huffed at the lack of answer then picked back up where she left off, though she now sounded more venomous before.

"Despite all you've done to your own son, he's forgiven you for absolutely everything. The hunting, the shooting, the cursing, the threatening, every single thing you've done wrong. And it's not just because he knew you didn't realize it was actually him. He forgave you because he's kind. If I were him, though, it wouldn't have taken me three years to run away. He didn't even _**WANT**_ to run away! You guys forced him to, and he's _STILL_ forgiven you for that! This! This, however, I honestly doubt he'll forgive you for! He has absolutely no reason not to hate you for what you did and were trying to do to Danielle. Especially. _Especially_ considering that, whether anyone but me realizes it, she's your daughter and my sister and Danny's sister. You may not have given birth to her, but it was your genes that led to her birth." She stopped yet again, glaring at her parents. Dani was still lingering in the doorway, unsure of what to say or even think.

Maddie and Jack were also stunned into silence, causing the room to grow impossibly quiet. Maddie opened her mouth to speak, but then closed it again. Jazz took a very large breath, seeming to age within seconds as her anger dissipated and left her mentally exhausted instead.

"I'm going to my room. Don't bother calling me down for dinner," she muttered, loud enough where they could hear her. Dani moved aside to let her pass, watching as Maddie's face fell even further except her eyebrows were furrowed in thought still. Dani sighed and left as well, going to Danny's room and lying on his bed (after locking the door again, just to feel safe). It was a little while later when she could make out quiet talking from downstairs. She didn't bother trying to make out the words, though. It was a couple hours later, with Dani half-heartedly lazing around with Danny's TV and video games during the time, when someone knocked on the door downstairs. Dani paused the game to listen, almost dropping through the chair in shock at the peppy voice that pierced through the walls to ring in her ears. She stood and left the room, going to the top of the stairs just to be sure she was actually hearing the right voice.

Apparently, she was as Pamela and Jeremy Manson came through the door, Sam following and glaring at their backs. Dani couldn't blame her for the fact as she was wearing a baby pink shirt with ruffles on the sleeves and bottom. Even if Dani weren't on the tomboy side, she would've hated the shirt, so she could only imagine how the Goth must feel having it on her.

Dani stayed in her place, hoping to only be seen by Sam. However, it was just her luck that it was the teen's mother who saw her first while greeting Maddie (only slightly unpleasant- Dani figured there had to be a story about why Sam's parents were going anywhere near the Fenton house).

"Well, who is that, Maddie? A relative? She looks like Danny," Pamela asked, voice a bit too sweet for Dani's liking, as she watched the young teen like a hawk. She watched Maddie stiffen then mechanically answer.

"That's Danielle. She's staying with us for a little while." She immediately began escorting the other set of parents into the living room. Sam went straight past and darted up the stairs to Dani.

"Oh thank God. I can't believe I have to spend all evening with them! Sheesh!" she complained then sighed before putting on a smile for Dani. "Hey, Dani. How've you been?"

"I've been plenty better, but let's talk about that after I save you from that flamingo," she replied, pulling Sam intangibly through Danny's door and going to his dresser. She knew he wouldn't mind Sam borrowing a shirt. She picked out a black t-shirt that smelled like spray paint from the back of his drawer then handed it to the grateful Goth, turning around so she could have privacy while changing.

"Thank you for that. I was about to die in that monstrosity." Dani turned around again and held up a hand for a high five, which Sam promptly gave to her with a grin. Over Dani's visits, the two had gotten to know each other better and were much more comfortable and trusting with one another.

"You're welcome. We can go outside and destroy it later on." Dani sat in the chair she had been in before, turning it around to face Sam as she sat on the bed. The two conversed and Dani brought Sam up to date (both avoiding the elephant in the room by not mentioning Danny and his absence) for about an hour until someone knocked on the door.

"Sammykins! Danielle! Dinner is ready!~" Pamela chimed through the door. The girls shared a look and got up from their spots, neither very happy to be eating at a table which was sure to break out into a fight or awkward silence. They went downstairs and into the kitchen, not surprised to see the men already sitting down and food obviously cooked by mainly Pamela. They sat beside each other and joined the silence of the room until Pamela came back down, looking a bit dis-heartened that Jazz hadn't joined them. She and Maddie served dinner and the silence then started again, causing Dani's ears to begin ringing.

_'It's not going to be good when somebody does talk_...' Her suspicions were almost immediately confirmed when Pamela turned to her and smiled.

"So, Danielle, is it? I apologize we haven't met you properly yet. I'm Pamela and this is my husband Jeremy." Dani figured she would go along with pleasantries.

"Oh, it's alright, Mr. and Mrs. Manson. I should have come down and introduced myself. I'm Danielle Fenton. You can call me either Danielle or Dani," she replied, trying to return the smile but being sure she was grimacing instead. Her answer seemed to surprised the red-haired woman as she dropped her fork onto her plate then blushed and picked it back up.

"O-oh, well, it's nice to meet you, Danielle. If you don't mind me asking, how are you related to Jack?" Then it was Dani's turn to be surprised at how forward the question had come. She supposed the woman was much less keen on being polite in the presence of the Fentons. Dani internally grinned to herself. She was having such a bad day, she deserved to have a little fun. She decided to tell the truth.

"I'm Danny's clone/ cousin."

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_I reeeeally hope Jazz wasn't too OOC by getting so mad. I don't really think she it, but you don't really see her mad a lot to really know. Also, when Danny enters the room in the previous chapter, it is, in fact, somewhere within the scene of them being in there. I'm just not going to say exactly when just yet~ XD I hope you liked it!~ F, F, &amp; R!~_


	11. Chapter 11

_AN: Hey, guys!~ I'm getting **worse** with procrastination XD I just typed all of this except for maybe two lines that I did last night :P Ah well. At least I'm getting it to you all on time :) I will warn, though, you'll probably want to hate me after the chapter is over~ Also, let me know if anybody thinks I should up the rating at all. I don't think it's worthy of teen, but some might think so. . Anyways, I hope you enjoy!~_

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**_*Dani*_**

Pamela's reaction wasn't quite as Dani expected, but was definitely entertaining. Her mouth dropped open comically and started moving like a fish as she grasped for an explanation. Jeremy's wasn't quite as funny as his eyes just went wide and her simply stared at Dani. It was almost worth the next occurrence. Almost.

As soon as her words settled into their minds as well, Jack and Maddie promptly began yelling at her, but their words jumbled together so Dani couldn't make out anything. Upon realizing this, Maddie stood up, her chair falling backwards with a too-loud clatter as she didn't scoot back, then stormed out of the room and down to the lab. Jack stopped yelling as well then glared at Dani for a moment before following his wife. Jeremy and Pamela were still in the same positions as before while Sam was still eating her vegetarian dish as if nothing was happening.

Dani was starting to feel guilty. Sure, it was the truth, but sometimes the truth was just too much for some people. She got up slowly and caught Sam's eye. The older girl shook her head at Dani, but Dani didn't listen as she started to approach the fifties-style couple.

"Mr. and Mrs. Manson? Are you alright?" she asked. She reached out to nudge Pamela's are them jumped back in surprise when the woman violently jerked herself away from Dani. She was really feeling guilty now as she saw the couple staring at her, as well as insecure. She couldn't do nothing, though. She reached towards her again but wished she hadn't immediately. Pamela yelped and swatted Dani's hand away from her, getting as far back from Dani on her chair as she could.

"G-get away from me, you _freak_!" she yelped. Dani froze and silently pulled her arm back then took several large steps back, trying to keep the tears pooling in her eyes from falling, but not succeeding. She barely heard as Sam leapt up from her spot and promptly began yelling her head off at her parents. Instead, Dani turned on her heel and ran out, morphing before she got through the front door and taking flight.

She kept flying while she let herself cry, staying invisible as well. Eventually, she found a tall rooftop with no easy access, where she landed. She sat against the raised edge and curled into a ball, trying to stop her tears though they refused.

_'I never should've come here,_' ran through her head. She hoped it wouldn't, but then that stupid little voice known as a conscience decided to show up.

"**Aw, but then what about helping Danny? You're doing good being here. Sure, it's hard, but at least he can get things sorted out with his parents**," it encouraged.

_'Yeah, sure, but how do I even know that? So far, I'm pretty sure I've only made his parents worse. All the while, I'm finding out just how much I don't like people. I don't get how Danny did it, protecting them all when they hated him.'_

**"He did it because they needed him. Just like he needs you right now. You may think you're not doing any good, but you can't know that for sure."** Dani hated it, but she was starting to feel better. She had stopped crying at the very least. **"There you go. Now, you can go back an-"** the voice cut off as Dani jerked up at a crash and screams a couple streets away. She leapt up just in time for her ghost sense to go off.

"Where are they all coming from?! Danny said he locked up the Portal!" she complained to the air before jumping off the roof. She yelped as she was grabbed from behind by pitch black arms before she could even start flying to the people in need.

"My, aren't you just wonderful," cooed a sickly-sweet voice behind her as more screams echoed up to them.

_***Danny***_ _((AN: Remember that he's still invisible and intangible!))_

He blinks as he stares around the kitchen, wanting to cover his ears at the yelling. So many questions rolling through his head. Why was Sam and her parents here? Where was his family? Why was Sam screaming her head off _AT_ her parents at his house? He focuses on Sam's words then, hoping to decipher something about the situation.

"-have called him a freak?! HUH?! WHAT ABOUT **_ME_**?! WOULD YOU CALL**_ ME_ **A FREAK IF I WERE LIKE THEM?! They're better people than either of you will _EVER_ even **_HOPE_** to be! They're people I _CARE ABOUT_ and you two should at least respect them!" She takes a moment to breathe, and Danny starts thinking it over. By the table, they had obviously been over for dinner and something must've happened. From Sam's words, he guesses one of them had said something derogatory towards Dani or himself. He doesn't particularly care about anything said about himself, but anything about Dani is another story. He knows she doesn't trust easily, nor does she get along with people very well. Vlad had partially ruined her when he turned on her, and Danny still isn't sure if she can ever be made completely whole again.

For the time being, he pushes the thoughts out of his head and floats upstairs to give his ears a break. He goes out of the bathroom and down the hall, carefully poking his head into Jazz's room to find it empty. He shrugs and checks his own room, figuring whatever happened had caused Dani to run out and Jazz to follow her. He sighs to himself then flies up through the roof and goes up high, looking around for any sign of his sister and cousin. He doesn't see them and is about to go into the Op Center when screams echo over to his. He groans.

"Where are they all coming from?! I locked the Portal!" he complains before taking off in the direction. His ghost sense goes off when he's closer. He looks down at the street to see a glowing green panther has a teenager a couple years younger than Danny pressed against a light pole. The teen is the one screaming. Danny has to keep himself from wanting to laugh, as he had honestly expected a little girl by the pitch. He shakes it off and dives down, making only his hands tangible as he tears the panther away from the man and intangible again with the ghost as he pushes him down into the sewer. The panther lands on its feet in the mucky water below, scowling at getting wet. Wait, scowling?

"Just who we're looking for. The little loooser himself~" taunts Bertrand, his tail swaying to and fro. Danny glares at him, still wondering how they got out. He's honestly still a bit angry from the other day when they started tormenting a playground.

"Oh, looky.~ You still don't know how to reign in those hormones, do you? I guess that's just one more way you're absolutely useless.~" Danny scowls at him, but doesn't attack just yet. He knows Spectra is around somewhere as well and doesn't want to be caught off guard by her. Bertrand senses his suspicion and grins, extra sharp teeth looking rather menacing. "You don't have to worry about my wonderful partner-in-crime just now. You see... she's already got her hands full dealing with your over-emotional sisters.~" Danny doesn't even have time to gasp before Bertrand is leaping at him. Danny does nothing, thinking he's still intangible, but finds out too late that he had lost intangibility at some point as Bertrand slams into him then against the wall of the sewer pipe. His newly-healed ribs groan in protest, as do the others as pain jabs throughout his back. Bertrand digs his claws into the cement, pinning Danny's arms to the wall.

Danny kicks up sideways, hoping to ram his boot against Bertrand's head, but the full ghost expects it and turns his head and snatches Danny's foot with his mouth. He digs his teeth in through the tough material and into Danny's foot before dropping it, causing Danny's foot to hit the ground hard. He yelps as it does, the new wounds stinging with pain. He struggles against Bertrand's claws, trying to wiggle his arms free, but Bertrand simply digs deeper into the wall. He smiles at Danny, far too humanoid for his current form and even more menacing-looking with the green and red of Danny's blood on his teeth. Danny grimaces as he shifts his weight equally on both feet again, keeping from wincing as the bite wound presses against his re-formed boot sole. There's an explosion overhead on the street. Bertrand makes the mistake of looking up.

Danny lets his weight go onto his trapped arms and raises both feet.

"Hey, kitty, kitty." Bertrand looks back at him just in time to be shoved in chest with both of Danny's feet, dislodging him from the halfa. Danny keeps himself in the air as Bertrand roars with pain, the tips of his fingers oozing ectoplasm. Danny glances back at the wall and understands as he sees Bertrand's claws still within the wall.

"I guess that's one way to de-claw a cat," he comments then tenses as Bertrand growls and extends new ones. "Oooor maybe not." He dives to the side to avoid Bertrand as he leaps at Danny, regretting it as one of the new claws catches his leg.

_'I've gotta get out of this tight space. I can't really DO anything_.' Danny thinks, looking around for an exit but having to dodge yet again. Bertrand's at the point of swinging rather wildly, angered by his injury. It continues for several minutes like that with Danny barely getting out of the way in the confined space until he smacks himself in the head and goes intangible.

"Why do I always forget to do that when I fight you?" he asks then leaps through the ground, soaring up to float in the sky and looking around, hoping to catch sight of Spectra and remaining incorporeal and invisible. Worry is setting in as well. Did Bertrand mean it when he spoke of Danny's sisters? Were Dani and Jazz alright?

He hears a familiar yell from behind him a ways and looks, making out a small mass of black and white in the sky several buildings away from him. The mass convulses for a moment before Danny realizes it's two people.

_Spectra and Dani._

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_Hate me yet? XD Sorry for the cliffhanger, but I reeeeally just wanted to do another one. Despite how much I torment you all, I truly love all of my readers and am so glad to have you!~ Have a good day!~ F, F, &amp; R!~_


	12. Chapter 12

_AN: Warning: Some content **may** be somewhat sensitive. Proceed with caution, please, and know I'm here to talk to anybody know needs it for any reason._

_I apologize once again for not updating at all last week, nor being able to make up for it this week either. I don't know if I'll actually "make up" for it, though. if I ever finish a chapter before Wednesday, then I'll post it then and do two in one week. If not, then I hope you guys aren't upset with me for it. This chapter is kind of short, especially for what I owe you after missing. I just didn't have the time or inspiration, but I don't think it turned out **too** bad. XD I hope you enjoy!~_

* * *

Dani stiffened for a moment at the voice, pinpointing it immediately despite only having heard it once. She then began trying to get away from the shadowy ghost, but the effects hit her before she could. Sadness, loneliness, and even some self-hate slammed into her all at once as Spectra started to glow from absorbing her emotions. Having not experienced it before, it shocked Dani by just how strong it was, causing her to hang limp as her thoughts ran rampant.

_'I need to get away from her!_'

"**Why? And how? You she's too strong for you. She's almost too hard for Danny to beat. No way can you do it**." the snide part of her brain argued, sounding hopeless.

_'Because she's sucking the life out of me! That's why! And I can get away from her at least! I have people to help me fight her. I can get Jazz._'

"**So what if she's sucking the life out of you? It's not much of a life anyway. You're just a freaky little copy clone of Danny. You can never measure up to him, you know. He saved the whole world. What can you do? You're not even as good as Jazz is. She's a genius and the perfect sister**." Dani felt the weight of the words echo through her skull, but she didn't know how to stop it. Spectra still had a tight hold on her and was drawing out all her positive thoughts and emotions.

"**And you can't do anything about it, either. Why don't you just let her kill you? It would be easier for Danny. After all, everything you are is just a constant reminder of Vlad to him**." Dani froze at that thought and felt herself frown for a moment before white-hot anger filled her. She opened her eyes, realizing for the first time she had closed them, and started kicking her legs and fighting against Spectra's hold on her.  
"Let. Go. Of. Me!" she half-yelled at her, trying to shove her way out of Spectra's grip.

"Now, why would I do that?~ You're perfectly delicious!~" she replied, but it wasn't as easy-sounding as the last one with Dani fighting. Dani squirmed for a few more seconds before getting an idea. She knew Danny had done this before, but she wasn't sure how and didn't know if she could do it, too. She stopped moving for a moment and closed her eyes to focus, honing in on the center of her abilities. She began breathing at the slowest she possibly could in ghost form while concentrating, willing her power to build up. After several moments, she could barely keep it in but did so as she focused on her anger.

She let that build to until she literally couldn't anymore. She yelled, all her anger put into the scream as all her power goes out from all sides. Spectra shrieked in pain and was forced several feet back by the successful Ghostly Repulsion. Dani panted for a moment but was fine again soon, her power levels already almost back to normal. She hadn't expected that, and apparently Spectra hadn't either as she leapt at Dani again just to get slammed with an ectoblast. Spectra hissed at Dani and attacked again, dodging better and going at her mercilessly.

The two continue their green-lit tango for several minutes, Dani slowly losing her temporary advantage slip more and more as Spectra healed rapidly from the shock the Repulsion had thrown through her. Dani was beginning to see more about her fighting style, though. It surprised her considering Danny didn't even really know her actual fighting style. Out of the two, Danny was easier to distract with his emotions, so it never surprised Dani there that he hadn't been able to pay enough attention for her pattern. She hadn't really thought about herself being able to see it, though, considering how many weaknesses she knows she has. Particularly anything to deal with Vlad and copies.

Thinking about this as she avoided and returned blasts caused something to occur to Dani. She goes invisible, moving from her spot and allowing herself a moment to think. Spectra wasn't seeming like how Danny had described her to, either. Danny had told her Spectra was always very cunning, never coming straight at you and trying to manipulate you until you couldn't take it. Since Dani had broken free, Spectra hadn't said a single word, though. Plus, she was attacking Dani left and right with barely a breath for either of them. The combination surely could mean only one thing. Spectra had some sort of plan.

"Come out, come out, little clone~ You don't want me to have to draw you out," Spectra taunted, hovering as if she was about to dive towards the street where people were watching the battle. Dani snapped herself back to visibility and launched herself towards Spectra, landing a punch in her gut.

Just as Dani backed up a bit, someone yelped from somewhere behind and below her. She turned to look out of reflex but regretted it as Spectra rammed into her, football tackle style. The shadowy ghost gained speed and partially let gravity take hold, causing herself and the winded Dani to plummet towards the ground. Dani started getting her breath back just before she hit the street, pain ripping through her as she went straight through the blacktop and grass and cement, hitting water and steel floor hard as she went into the sewer. She sat up, clutching her head as the world spun before her eyes. She closed them, hoping it would get better as she healed. From the screaming pain in her chest, she knew several ribs had to be broken and her head was likely concussed.

From the injuries, she wasn't aware enough to realize she wasn't alone until she was being smashed in the head. She slumped and felt herself slipping into unconsciousness. Just before she fell to the blackness, she heard someone shout her name. It was surely just her imagination, though. Danny was far away, right?

*Danny*

Danny starts toward his cousin/sister but is stopped as he's grabbed by the ankle and drug straight down. He jerks his foot free, snapping the glowing rope of hardened ectoplasm and whirling around to see Bertrand in his ninja form. The older ghost starts dramatically twirling his nunchucks and leaps towards Danny. The halfa facepalms and turns intangible, wondering why Bertrand was trying a move he had failed at before. Danny lets himself become corporeal again and shoots an ectoblast at Bertrand, who manages to dodge.

Bertrand avoids it yet again and the two begin to fight fully, no longer restricted. The battle becomes heated quickly, neither side gaining the upper hand while Bertrand keeps up a stream of insults and Danny smarts off right back to him. It continues until a while later when Bertrand suddenly grins and darts downward, straight past Danny. The halfa whips around to see why, and gasps as he sees Spectra and Dani heading towards the street. Bertrand phases through the ground, back into the sewer and Danny takes off, hoping to reach the falling pair before Dani hits the street.

She crashes through the blacktop well before Danny gets there, a loud splash echoing up to him. He kicks his speed up a notch but is slammed in the side, throwing him off course and causing him to land on the grass in a roll. He stops when he hits the wall, upside-down and in a heap. He untangles himself and dives through the ground in the direction of the sewer, reaching it just in time to see Dani get knocked unconscious by Bertrand. Danny freezes for a millisecond then attacks the shapeshifting ghost, throwing in as much power as he can in retaliation. He gets pulled off of Bertrand by Spectra, causing him to begin struggling against her as well. He manages to glimpse behind her to see Dani slumped and her head bleeding.

"DANI!" he calls, hoping she's fine. Spectra lobs him against the sewer wall. He feels his head crack against it, but he brushes it off as he gets up and throws blasts at both of them. He lands the hits then focuses his energy, changing it, closing his eyes for a moment, and opening them again to reveal their ice blue hue as he shoves his hands forward, freezing the sewer water around the two full ghosts but being careful not to extend it toward Dani. They get caught in it and start trying to pull themselves free. Spectra shoots an ectoblast towards Danny, but he sidesteps it and freezes more of them, blocking ice up to their torsos and floating in front of them.

"_WHAT_ the _heck_ is your problem?!" Danny shouts at the trapped ghosts. Spectra hisses at him.

"You've messed with my plans far too many times, halfa brat. There's only so much misery you can take, and I plan on making you reach past that point," she tells him, voice sickly sweet. Danny narrows his eyes at her, fists clenching.

"Listen up, Spectra. You and your midget assistant-"

"Hey!"

"-have twenty seconds to tell me where Jazz is, or I Wail both of you while you're still frozen." Danny's stomach drops as both ghosts grin at each other.

* * *

_Cliffhanger is cliffhanger. XD Sorry it's a cliffy, but I wanted to get it up before ten and it wouldn't have been if I tried to press on for the night. I hope it wasn't awful. F, F, &amp; R!~_


	13. Chapter 13

_AN: HOLY FREAKING CRAP, I FINALLY FREAKING FINISHED THIS DING-DANG CHAPTER. HOLY CRAP, HOLY CRAP, HOLY CRAP! I AM SO SORRY THIS TOOK TO FREAKING LONG, I'M SURE YOU'VE READ THE AUTHOR'S NOTES, THOUGH, SO IT IS WHAT IT IS. Here is the long-awaited chapter thirteen!~ I am sorry this is a slightly slow chapter (in my opinion, but I'm the author so it's screwy), but I hope to have another chapter done soon. As it is, you guys are only getting this because I received help with my writer's block from the ABOSLUTELY WONDERFUL princessbinas. So please give her a big thank you, and here's another one from me. THANK YOU, BINAS! So, anyways, let's get on to the chapter! Hope you enjoy!~_

* * *

**_*Danny*_**

The two continue to grin for several more seconds before Spectra turns her face back to Danny, her smile widening impossibly more.

"Who says we did anything with you brainiac sister?" she taunts.

"B-but you... he- he said you were going after them and Jazz is missing!" Danny protests, honestly hoping they did have her just so he could know she's reachable for him. He glares again as the pair laughs at him.

"My, my, my. I've known you to be many things, Daniel, but never so naïve. It was a ploy~" Spectra sneers.

"We do know where she is, though. She's nice and hidden away. And there's now way you can-" taunts Bertrand before Danny cuts him off with some ectoplasmic goop over his mouth. He's out of patience with the two manipulative ghosts.

"Spectra, I'm sick and tired of your games. Tell me where my sister is right now or, so help me, I will think of every single power and weapon I can use just to blast you both with them all," Danny says, voice low and menacing in his anger. Spectra glares at him for a few seconds more, but finally concedes defeat.

"Walker has her." She starts smiling again causing Danny's stomach to bottom out yet again. "And she's just been given two thousand years in a human proof cell.~"

**_*Dani*_**

Dani woke up with her head pounding like she'd never felt and the rest of her not feeling the best as well. The more she came to, the more she was hurting and the more sure she was that she was going to blast whichever ghost who did it into the next century. When she finally got around to opening her eyes, though, she was left confused. Why was she in Danny's room? More so, who put her here? She decided to think more on it later as she squinted against the morning light.

"Wait, morning?!" she realized, jerking upright and looking around to the window behind the bed. The light wasn't lying. It was indeed morning though only of the next day according to the bedside clock. She peered around and saw nothing out of place in the room and thee door locked again, the key beside the clock... That wasn't right, either. The door could only be locked from the inside, but she hadn't been awake to do that yet there was nobody who could've done it for her... right?

The only person who could do that who would actually help her was Danny, but Danny wasn't around. He had run away and wasn't coming back until his parents stopped being bigots. Dani repeated that thought in her mind several times to try convincing herself to believe it. She shook her head to clear it, the confusion starting to make it hurt worse since she already was getting over the concussion Bertrand gave her-

"Bertrand! Spectra! What happened with those two?!" she exclaimed, jumping up and morphing as soon as she got above the bed, darting through the wall and over the city streets until she reached the area the fight had been in. Just to find it completely patched up again.

_'How do they even clean these things up so quickly? The city workers must be really busy most days._' She dove down through the ground and into the sewer, lighting up her hand to be able to see and being surprised to find human and ghost gore on the walls still from some sort of fight... Except she hadn't fought either of them down here. All that had happened down here was her getting slammed in the head... And then what? Someone had come to her rescue, but who? Jazz? Sam? Neither seemed likely as Sam had been yelling at her parents while Jazz hadn't even been downstairs and likely hadn't been able to find her so easily. So, WHO?!

Dani went around and looked at all the different patches of dried blood and congealed ectoplasm but none of them told her anything more than there had been a ghost and someone with human blood as well. And, with a wince, she saw that whoever it was had de-clawed Bertrand as the brilliantly white claws caught her eye.

Her mind went to Danny again, but she pushed it away. It was better to not let herself hope for that. When Danny did something big, he stayed by it unless he was completely wrong, and he certainly wasn't wrong for running away. She sighed and looked around some more for any further clues but found none. She leapt into the air and up through the ground, flying back to the house and into Danny's room. She looked around for several minutes for any evidence of who brought her to safety, but there was yet again nothing.

She shrugged to herself and morphed, wincing as her empty stomach makes itself known. She hesitated for a moment before going downstairs, completely on guard of everything around her and glancing around constantly. She reached the kitchen without incident then froze in her spot at the sight.

Maddie was sitting at the table, which had yet to be cleaned up from the mess of a dinner last night, and... bawling her eyes out. Dani had seen many odd sights, but never had she expected this one. She started to silently back up, intending on returning invisible when Jack spotted her.

"Ah, Dani's up, Maddie. You said you had to talk to her?" Jack asked his wife quickly, seeming very upset himself though his wife was obviously taking whatever was going on even harder than him. Dani paused in her retreat but was ready to go intangible and/or morph if it was needed. Maddie lifted her face from her hands, eyes bright red and face somewhat snotty; she surprised Dani by leaping up and rushing over to her. Dani flinched to herself, expecting some kind of hit or shot and almost going intangible when... she was being hugged? She had to pull back slightly for a view of the mother's face to be absolutely positive this was actually happening. It apparently was.

"I'm- I'm s-so sorry, Da-ni!" the red-headed sobbed out, clutching onto the young halfa as if she were her life-saver. It simply confused Dani even more.  
"Uhm... what happened, Mrs. Fenton? I mean, why are you so..." she left the second question fall off awkwardly but it did the trick as Maddie gave a big sniffle and pulled away from the hug, resting back where she was sitting on her feet since she had been kneeling while hugging Dani. Jack cleared his throat and Dani looked over at him. He now had some fresh tears in his eyes as well.

"Jazz... ran away.." he got out in a broken-sounding monotone. Maddie let out another sob while Dani looked between both of them, confused. Were they actually telling the truth? Dani had to find out for herself.

She backed the rest of the way out of Maddie's embrace and darted up the stairs, almost taking flight from how many she was skipping over, and stopped dead in front of Jazz's open door. She wasn't there... It took Dani a moment for it to sink in. She. Wasn't. There.

"O-okay, clam down, Danielle," she began saying to herself, holding her head in one hand. "There are lots of reasons she could be gone that isn't running away." Dani continued trying to get her head straight with these until an odd square of white caught her eye... a note left on Jazz's bed. Dani gulped to herself and went over to it, picking it up to read.

_"Dear Everyone,_

_I'm following in Danny's footsteps and running away. I've had enough. So, now I'm just going to walk away and leave until you can learn properly._

_Jazz"_

Dani sat down on the bed, half-numb. The note was bitingly short, and it hit her hard. Jazz had really left. Leaving Maddie and Jack, she could understand, but... why did Jazz leave her? Why would she leave Dani alone in a house with people who hated her? Why didn't she ask Dani to join her or something? Why..? Dani bit back tears of her own, feeling lost when she noticed something odd on the note when she glanced back at it.

She looked closer to be sure, but they were definitely there. Two small underlines, silently highlighting "walk" and the "er" in properly. Why would Jazz do that? It was completely deliberate, for sure. The lines were too perfect not to be, so why-

The answer hit Dani like slamming into a billboard, something she had personally done on many occasions.

"Walker!" she exclaimed, jumping up from the bed and morphing as she went. She skidded to a halt for a moment in the kitchen doorway where the couple were still trying to console each other somehow.

"Gotta talk to Tucker and Sam. Lock down the house and don't leave. I'll explain later. Bye!" she said rapidly, giving them no time to question her as she darted out of the house, taking flight off the top step and speeding towards the school.

**_*Danny*_**

Danny grins to himself with pride for both Dani and his own doing. He had spent almost two hours debating (with much pacing and several false-starts) on what to do about the situation and whether or not him revealing himself early would be worth it when Dani could fight. After continuing to give Spectra and Bertrand a royal beat-down, that is. The pair are currently stuck in a thermos he snuck from the basement , said thermos then placed inside an Op Center wall to prevent them getting out again until he releases them into the Ghost Zone. That wouldn't be for a while.

He had finally come up with the plan for the note then took another three hours and exactly forty tries to get the note perfect with hand-writing as close to Jazz's as he could manage and wording that could pass for hers if she was in a hurry.

He follows his cousin when she exits the Fenton house, intending on being with her if something even worse happens. By the look on her face, he knows one thing for sure. Walker's first beating from her would be possibly even worse than the second one Danny plans on giving him when they get Jazz back.

* * *

_Yes, Danny had a good idea. For once. :D I hope this doesn't suck too much and that the characters aren't too OOC. XD Hopefully I'll see you all again soon! Have a great day! F, F, &amp; R!~_


	14. Chapter 14

_AN: Hello everyone! So, I want to apologize so, so much for the unplanned and unnamed hiatus. If any of you read Age of Prosperity, you'll know I started college this past fall. Once I moved into that dorm, I had no time whatsoever to do anything. I'm currently on break, though, and hope I can crank out several chapters of this, actually. Just know, it is not abandoned. I will finish it. I promise. For those who are still here, though, have at it! A new chapter!_

* * *

_***Dani***_

Dani flew at her top speed, making it across town to Casper High within two minutes (and vaguely wondering how Danny was always late with the time he could make). She touched down on the steps and burst through the front door just to immediately back out again at the wailing sirens that began piercing her ears the moment she crossed the threshold. She morphed back and the sirens cut off from the ecto-signature being dimmed to almost nothing. The natural camouflage was probably Dani's favorite part of being a half-ghost. She once again hurled herself through the door, heading for the front office, when she caught sight of Sam and Tucker going back into a classroom as the sirens hadn't been long enough for an evacuation to be needed.

"Sam! Tucker!" They turned around at her voice and immediately ran to join her. She gave no time for greetings as she launched into the explanation of everything that had happened last night and of Jazz's disappearance and note. Neither of them said much during it nor asked questions afterwards.

"Let's get going, then!" was all and then they were running. As soon as they got to the steps, Dani morphed back and took off with both of them back towards the Fenton Portal.

_***Special***_

William Lancer is a man who has seen many things in his days as a teacher, particularly at Casper High, but none had been as worrying as seeing a young girl who looked almost exactly like Danny Fenton come running up to talk to Danny's best friends then hurry off with them. He knew something was off. Danny had not shown up the previous evening to collect his homework which Lancer ended up leaving clearly labeled on his desk after midnight had passed without the teenager's appearance. He had not slept that night for worry about his student.

His worry had increased ten-fold when Jasmine Never-Forget-Any-Commitment Fenton had not shown up that morning for the class work either. As he went back into his classroom and began to calm his students, he sent a silent plea to whoever may be listening that the Fenton children were alright.

_***Dani***_

Dani cursed loudly (she had accidentally developed quite the foul mouth in her travels) and tried another random word.

"Danielle, I think we should just go find a different portal," Tucker prompted calmly. They had been trying for almost half an hour to figure out the code Danny had locked the Portal with, but they were no closer with none of the things they could think of working.

"What Portal?! Vlad's was the only other one, and his mansion go seized, searched, and demolished after the Disasteroid incident. Plus we don't have the Infi-map to find a natural one, which would be dangerous anyways!" The half-ghost kicked the leg of the desk in exasperation at the end of it then began trying to calm down. Another thing she had realized was different, she admittedly had a much shorter temper than Danny and got frustrated rather easily. Sam placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder, which worked a lot better than Dani could've guessed it would.

"Hey, it's alright. We'll figure this out one way or another. Whether we have to try two different ways or a hundred-" Sam reassured but was cut off by an odd gasp from Tucker, who leapt into the computer chair beside him and began rapidly searching the internet for something.

"What is it, Tuck?" Dani asked but was shushed by the techno-geek-at-work. Tucker didn't reply but Dani was looking over is shoulder at the screen and didn't need it. The current website said it all. Vlad's mansion in Colorado? Still there. His rebuilt mansion in Wisconsin? Still there. The new owner of them? Danny himself. Dani met Sam's gaze knowingly, a slight sinking feeling in her stomach at /having/ to go back to Vlad's. "Looks like it's time for a road trip."

**_-Time Skip-_**

The actual matter of getting to either of the mansions was quite easy. The Specter Speeder. What proved to not be easy, however, was remaining patient enough for the flight. It was fairly short, yes, but still long enough to cause silence in the small cabin as tension built. One hour was short for a flight of any sort, but it was miraculously long when loved ones could be in danger. It was because of this tension that, as soon as they could see the mansion, Dani darted out of and ahead of the Speeder to make sure everything was clear for an easy landing. Sam and Tucker caught up in the Speeder a few minutes later, and Sam spoke through the intercom.

"You'll have to take us down there with intangibility. You can do it, right?" she asked, though she knew the answer already. Dani truly had gotten stronger once she stabilized, though she would probably never be as strong as Danny. She nodded sharply and dove back into the Speeder, turning the vehicle untouchable without another word, anxious like never before and all of them feeling the missing presence. Sam expertly steered it down to the lab, and Dani kept up the intangibility while they looked around to make sure it was clear. There was nobody there and the Ecto-Filtrator seemed brand new, so Dani let off the cover and flew over to the computers. All of them were on still. She was about to type in the password she knew had been the last one when she paused.

"Sam, Tucker... Come give me your opinion on this." Sam put the Speeder in park then the pair climbed out, looking around like Dani was to try seeing what she meant. "Doesn't this place... Look a little too clean..?"

**_*Danny*_**

Honestly... Danny hates this. He's setting things up for Dani to know who was behind things, but he hasn't been able to stop and tell her that he knows these things and is there to fight, too. Because as much as he hates it, he isn't ready to come out of hiding yet. If anyone knows where he is, it would put them in danger of his parents' anger. Of course, it would be nice to know just how angry or calmed down they are by now, but he hadn't been in the house long enough at all to know. Well, he'd been there for a decent while before to forge the note (he was still amazed it had actually been passable for Dani to believe), but he'd been too focused on his task. Dangit, he should've checked. Too late now, though.

As soon as he saw Dani get the clue, he'd started off for Wisconsin again. After changing the password back to what it had been before he'd changed it initially (seriously, though, MaddieMasters? Yuck), he set off again for Colorado this time. There wasn't any sort of auto-lock on the Portals, so Danny would just have to use the one in the hunting lodge to prevent Dani and hopefully Sam and Tucker from getting suspicious. Colorado isn't an easy flight, though. He takes it slow for the first branch of the flight, not going over seventy as if he were a car on the highways and interstates passing below him. After he stops in Nebraska to eat, though, he speeds up a lot and manages to make it to the lodge by nightfall. Hopefully everyone was alright still. Maybe they wouldn't need his help.. But if they did, he would be there soon.

He dives straight through the house once he gets there, unlocking the Portal with relative ease (he hadn't been to through this one yet but it wasn't too hard to guess "JackIsAnIdiot"). He stood in front of it for a moment, taking a deep breath. Into the fire again, it seemed.

"Please be okay, guys..." He dove into the Portal, unsure of where this one led out to but willing to fight through a thousand ghosts to get to his family.

* * *

_I know it's short for what I owe, but it's at little more to the story. As you can tell, we're getting pretty close to the climax. Hopefully I can add more soon. For now, though, have a lovely day/night! F, F, &amp; R!~_


End file.
